Evolved node-b, shared spectrum controller and method for communication in shared spectrum

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of an Evolved Node-B (eNB), shared spectrum controller and methods for communication in shared spectrum are generally described herein. A mobile network shared spectrum controller may operate as part of a domain of a mobile network. A public shared spectrum controller may operate externally to the mobile network domain. The mobile network shared spectrum controller and the public shared spectrum controller may operate cooperatively to perform operations of a shared spectrum controller, such as management of secondary usage of shared spectrum by a group of eNBs. The mobile network shared spectrum controller may obfuscate at least a portion of network configuration information from the public shared spectrum controller to enable maintenance of confidential information within the mobile network domain.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/566,190, filed Oct. 12, 2017, which is a U.S. National Stage Filingunder 35 U.S.C. 371 from International Application No.PCT/US2016/023384, filed Mar. 21, 2016 and published in English as WO2016/182634 on Nov. 17, 2016, which claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 62/161,762, filed May 14, 2015, each ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments pertain to wireless communications. Some embodiments relateto wireless networks including 3GPP (Third Generation PartnershipProject) networks, 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks, 3GPP LTE-A(LTE Advanced) networks, and 3GPP LTE-Advanced Pro networks, althoughthe scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. Someembodiments relate to primary and secondary usage of spectrum, such asshared spectrum. Some embodiments relate to spectrum access policies forshared spectrum. Some embodiments relate to Licensed Shared Access (LSA)controllers, repositories and systems. Some embodiments relate toSpectrum Access System (SAS) controllers and systems.

BACKGROUND

A wireless network may support communication with mobile devices forservices such as voice, data and others. In some cases, throughput orcapacity demands for such services may provide challenges for thenetwork. As an example, a large number of mobile devices may beconnected to the network. As another example, high data rates may bedesired by some of the mobile devices connected to the network. In somecases, a limited amount of available spectrum may be available, and thenetwork may be unable to support the mobile devices in that spectrum.Accordingly, there is a general need for methods and systems of enablingcommunication for the mobile devices in these and other scenarios.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a functional diagram of a 3GPP network in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example machine in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an Evolved Node-B (eNB) in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of spectrum sharing in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example network for a Licensed Shared Access (LSA)arrangement and an example network for a Spectrum Access System (SAS)arrangement in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example LSA network architecture in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example network architecture in which an LSAController may be divided and an example network architecture in whichan LSA Repository may be divided in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 8 illustrates example block diagrams for an LSA Controller, LSARepository, SAS Controller and SAS Repository in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 9 illustrates examples of registration and de-registrationoperations in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 10 illustrates examples of resource request, availabilityconfirmation, and connectivity check operations in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a Third Generation Partnership Project(3GPP) network management architecture in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 12 illustrates another example of a 3GPP network architecture inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 13 illustrates another example of a 3GPP network architecture inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 14 illustrates another example of a 3GPP network architecture inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 15 illustrates another example of a 3GPP network architecture inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 16 illustrates another example of a 3GPP network architecture inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 17 illustrates another example of a 3GPP network architecture inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 18 illustrates the operation of a method of communication in sharedspectrum in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 19 illustrates the operation of another method of communication inshared spectrum in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 20 illustrates the operation of another method of communication inshared spectrum in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustratespecific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practicethem. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical,process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodimentsmay be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments.Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalentsof those claims.

FIG. 1 is a functional diagram of a 3GPP network in accordance with someembodiments. It should be noted that embodiments are not limited to theexample 3GPP network shown in FIG. 1, as other networks may be used insome embodiments. As an example, a Fifth Generation (5G) network may beused in some cases. Such networks may or may not include some or all ofthe components shown in FIG. 1, and may include additional componentsand/or alternative components in some cases.

The network comprises a radio access network (RAN) (e.g., as depicted,the E-UTRAN or evolved universal terrestrial radio access network) 100and the core network 120 (e.g., shown as an evolved packet core (EPC))coupled together through an S1 interface 115. For convenience andbrevity sake, only a portion of the core network 120, as well as the RAN100, is shown.

The core network 120 includes a mobility management entity (MME) 122, aserving gateway (serving GW) 124, and packet data network gateway (PDNGW) 126. The RAN 100 includes Evolved Node-B's (eNBs) 104 (which mayoperate as base stations) for communicating with User Equipment (UE)102. The eNBs 104 may include macro eNBs and low power (LP) eNBs.

In accordance with some embodiments, the eNB 104 may transmit datamessages to the UE 102 and may receive data messages from the UE 102.The data messages may be exchanged in shared spectrum, in someembodiments. These embodiments will be described in more detail below.

The MIME 122 is similar in function to the control plane of legacyServing GPRS Support Nodes (SGSN). The MME 122 manages mobility aspectsin access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management.The serving GW 124 terminates the interface toward the RAN 100, androutes data packets between the RAN 100 and the core network 120. Inaddition, it may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-eNBhandovers and also may provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Otherresponsibilities may include lawful intercept, charging, and some policyenforcement. The serving GW 124 and the MME 122 may be implemented inone physical node or separate physical nodes. The PDN GW 126 terminatesan SGi interface toward the packet data network (PDN). The PDN GW 126routes data packets between the EPC 120 and the external PDN, and may bea key node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. It mayalso provide an anchor point for mobility with non-LTE accesses. Theexternal PDN can be any kind of IP network, as well as an IP MultimediaSubsystem (IMS) domain. The PDN GW 126 and the serving GW 124 may beimplemented in one physical node or separated physical nodes.

The eNBs 104 (which may be macro, micro, small-cell or any other AccessPoint type) terminate the air interface protocol and may be the firstpoint of contact for a UE 102. In some embodiments, an eNB 104 mayfulfill various logical functions for the RAN 100 including but notlimited to RNC (radio network controller functions) such as radio bearermanagement, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management anddata packet scheduling, and mobility management. In accordance withembodiments, UEs 102 may be configured to communicate OrthogonalFrequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals with an eNB104 over a multicarrier communication channel in accordance with anOrthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) communicationtechnique. The OFDM signals may comprise a plurality of orthogonalsubcarriers.

The S1 interface 115 is the interface that separates the RAN 100 and theEPC 120. It is split into two parts: the S1-U, which carries trafficdata between the eNBs 104 and the serving GW 124, and the S1-MME, whichis a signaling interface between the eNBs 104 and the MME 122. The X2interface is the interface between eNBs 104. The X2 interface comprisestwo parts, the X2-C and X2-U. The X2-C is the control plane interfacebetween the eNBs 104, while the X2-U is the user plane interface betweenthe eNBs 104.

With cellular networks, LP cells are typically used to extend coverageto indoor areas where outdoor signals do not reach well, or to addnetwork capacity in areas with very dense phone usage, such as trainstations. As used herein, the term low power (LP) eNB refers to anysuitable relatively low power eNB for implementing a narrower cell(narrower than a macro cell) such as a femtocell, a picocell, or a microcell. Femtocell eNBs are typically provided by a mobile network operatorto its residential or enterprise customers. A femtocell is typically thesize of a residential gateway or smaller and generally connects to theuser's broadband line. Once plugged in, the femtocell connects to themobile operator's mobile network and provides extra coverage in a rangeof typically 30 to 50 meters for residential femtocells. Thus, a LP eNBmight be a femtocell eNB since it is coupled through the PDN GW 126.Similarly, a picocell is a wireless communication system typicallycovering a small area, such as in-building (offices, shopping malls,train stations, etc.), or more recently in-aircraft. A picocell eNB cangenerally connect through the X2 link to another eNB such as a macro eNBthrough its base station controller (BSC) functionality. Thus, LP eNBmay be implemented with a picocell eNB since it is coupled to a macroeNB via an X2 interface. Picocell eNBs or other LP eNBs may incorporatesome or all functionality of a macro eNB. In some cases, this may bereferred to as an access point base station or enterprise femtocell.

In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid may be used for downlinktransmissions from an eNB 104 to a UE 102, while uplink transmissionfrom the UE 102 to the eNB 104 may utilize similar techniques. The gridmay be a time-frequency grid, called a resource grid or time-frequencyresource grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in eachslot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is a common practicefor OFDM systems, which makes it intuitive for radio resourceallocation. Each column and each row of the resource grid correspond toone OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration ofthe resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radioframe. The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted asa resource element (RE). Each resource grid comprises a number ofresource blocks (RBs), which describe the mapping of certain physicalchannels to resource elements. Each resource block comprises acollection of resource elements in the frequency domain and mayrepresent the smallest quanta of resources that currently can beallocated. There are several different physical downlink channels thatare conveyed using such resource blocks.

The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data andhigher-layer signaling to a UE 102 (FIG. 1). The physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) carries information about the transport formatand resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among otherthings. It also informs the UE 102 about the transport format, resourceallocation, and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARD) informationrelated to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling(e.g., assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to UEs 102within a cell) may be performed at the eNB 104 based on channel qualityinformation fed back from the UEs 102 to the eNB 104, and then thedownlink resource assignment information may be sent to a UE 102 on thecontrol channel (PDCCH) used for (assigned to) the UE 102.

The PDCCH uses CCEs (control channel elements) to convey the controlinformation. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCHcomplex-valued symbols are first organized into quadruplets, which arethen permuted using a sub-block inter-leaver for rate matching. EachPDCCH is transmitted using one or more of these control channel elements(CCEs), where each CCE corresponds to nine sets of four physicalresource elements known as resource element groups (REGs). Four QPSKsymbols are mapped to each REG. The PDCCH can be transmitted using oneor more CCEs, depending on the size of DCI and the channel condition.There may be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE withdifferent numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L=1, 2, 4, or 8).

As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to, be part of, orinclude an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electroniccircuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and/or memory(shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software orfirmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitablehardware components that provide the described functionality. In someembodiments, the circuitry may be implemented in, or functionsassociated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or moresoftware or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuitry may includelogic, at least partially operable in hardware. Embodiments describedherein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configuredhardware and/or software.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example machine in accordancewith some embodiments. The machine 200 is an example machine upon whichany one or more of the techniques and/or methodologies discussed hereinmay be performed. In alternative embodiments, the machine 200 mayoperate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) toother machines. In a networked deployment, the machine 200 may operatein the capacity of a server machine, a client machine, or both inserver-client network environments. In an example, the machine 200 mayact as a peer machine in peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed)network environment. The machine 200 may be a UE 102, eNB 104, sharedspectrum controller, shared spectrum repository, access point (AP),station (STA), mobile device, base station, personal computer (PC), atablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), amobile telephone, a smart phone, a web appliance, a network router,switch or bridge, a controller and/or controller device or any machinecapable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specifyactions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a singlemachine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken toinclude any collection of machines that individually or jointly executea set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more ofthe methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software asa service (SaaS), other computer cluster configurations.

Examples as described herein, may include, or may operate on, logic or anumber of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules are tangibleentities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations andmay be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In an example,circuits may be arranged (e.g., internally or with respect to externalentities such as other circuits) in a specified manner as a module. Inan example, the whole or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., astandalone, client or server computer system) or one or more hardwareprocessors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g.,instructions, an application portion, or an application) as a modulethat operates to perform specified operations. In an example, thesoftware may reside on a machine readable medium. In an example, thesoftware, when executed by the underlying hardware of the module, causesthe hardware to perform the specified operations.

Accordingly, the term “module” is understood to encompass a tangibleentity, be that an entity that is physically constructed, specificallyconfigured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., transitorily)configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or toperform part or all of any operation described herein. Consideringexamples in which modules are temporarily configured, each of themodules need not be instantiated at any one moment in time. For example,where the modules comprise a general-purpose hardware processorconfigured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor may beconfigured as respective different modules at different times. Softwaremay accordingly configure a hardware processor, for example, toconstitute a particular module at one instance of time and to constitutea different module at a different instance of time.

The machine (e.g., computer system) 200 may include a hardware processor202 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit(GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a mainmemory 204 and a static memory 206, some or all of which may communicatewith each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 208. The machine 200 mayfurther include a display unit 210, an alphanumeric input device 212(e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 214(e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display unit 210, input device 212and UI navigation device 214 may be a touch screen display. The machine200 may additionally include a storage device (e.g., drive unit) 216, asignal generation device 218 (e.g., a speaker), a network interfacedevice 220, and one or more sensors 221, such as a global positioningsystem (GPS) sensor, compass, accelerometer, or other sensor. Themachine 200 may include an output controller 228, such as a serial(e.g., universal serial bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless(e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connectionto communicate or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., aprinter, card reader, etc.).

The storage device 216 may include a machine readable medium 222 onwhich is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 224(e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of thetechniques or functions described herein. The instructions 224 may alsoreside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 204,within static memory 206, or within the hardware processor 202 duringexecution thereof by the machine 200. In an example, one or anycombination of the hardware processor 202, the main memory 204, thestatic memory 206, or the storage device 216 may constitute machinereadable media. In some embodiments, the machine readable medium may beor may include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.

While the machine readable medium 222 is illustrated as a single medium,the term “machine readable medium” may include a single medium ormultiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/orassociated caches and servers) configured to store the one or moreinstructions 224. The term “machine readable medium” may include anymedium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructionsfor execution by the machine 200 and that cause the machine 200 toperform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, orthat is capable of storing, encoding or carrying data structures used byor associated with such instructions. Non-limiting machine readablemedium examples may include solid-state memories, and optical andmagnetic media. Specific examples of machine readable media may include:non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g.,Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), ElectricallyErasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memorydevices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removabledisks; magneto-optical disks; Random Access Memory (RAM); and CD-ROM andDVD-ROM disks. In some examples, machine readable media may includenon-transitory machine readable media. In some examples, machinereadable media may include machine readable media that is not atransitory propagating signal.

The instructions 224 may further be transmitted or received over acommunications network 226 using a transmission medium via the networkinterface device 220 utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols(e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission controlprotocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transferprotocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet datanetwork (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellularnetworks), Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless datanetworks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE 802.16 family ofstandards known as WiMax®), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, a LongTerm Evolution (LTE) family of standards, a Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P)networks, among others. In an example, the network interface device 220may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, orphone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communicationsnetwork 226. In an example, the network interface device 220 may includea plurality of antennas to wirelessly communicate using at least one ofsingle-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO) techniques. In someexamples, the network interface device 220 may wirelessly communicateusing Multiple User MIMO techniques. The term “transmission medium”shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the machine200, and includes digital or analog communications signals or otherintangible medium to facilitate communication of such software.

FIG. 3 is a functional diagram of an Evolved Node-B (eNB) in accordancewith some embodiments. It should be noted that in some embodiments, theeNB 300 may be a stationary non-mobile device. The eNB 300 may besuitable for use as an eNB 104 as depicted in FIG. 1, in someembodiments. It should be noted that in some embodiments, the eNB 104may be or may be configured to operate as a macro cell eNB, femto celleNB, pico cell eNB, small cell eNB and/or other type of eNB 104.

The eNB 300 may include physical layer circuitry 302 and a transceiver305, one or both of which may enable transmission and reception ofsignals to and from the UE 102, other eNBs or other devices using one ormore antennas 301. As an example, the physical layer circuitry 302 mayperform various encoding and decoding functions that may includeformation of baseband signals for transmission and decoding of receivedsignals. As another example, the transceiver 305 may perform varioustransmission and reception functions such as conversion of signalsbetween a baseband range and a Radio Frequency (RF) range. Accordingly,the physical layer circuitry 302 and the transceiver 305 may be separatecomponents or may be part of a combined component. In addition, some ofthe described functionality related to transmission and reception ofsignals may be performed by a combination that may include one, any orall of the physical layer circuitry 302, the transceiver 305, and othercomponents or layers. The eNB 300 may also include medium access controllayer (MAC) circuitry 304 for controlling access to the wireless medium.The eNB 300 may also include processing circuitry 306 and memory 308arranged to perform the operations described herein. The eNB 300 mayalso include one or more interfaces 310, which may enable communicationwith other components, including other eNBs 104 (FIG. 1), components inthe EPC 120 (FIG. 1) or other network components. In addition, theinterfaces 310 may enable communication with other components that maynot be shown in FIG. 1, including components external to the network.The interfaces 310 may be wired or wireless or a combination thereof. Itshould be noted that in some embodiments, an eNB or other base stationmay include some or all of the components shown in either FIG. 2 or FIG.3 or both.

The antennas 301 may comprise one or more directional or omnidirectionalantennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas,patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas or other types ofantennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas 301 may be effectivelyseparated to take advantage of spatial diversity and the differentchannel characteristics that may result.

In some embodiments, the eNB 300 and/or the UE 102 may be a mobiledevice and may be a portable wireless communication device, such as apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer withwireless communication capability, a web tablet, a wireless telephone, asmartphone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, adigital camera, an access point, a television, a wearable device such asa medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor,etc.), or other device that may receive and/or transmit informationwirelessly. In some embodiments, the UE 102 or eNB 300 may be configuredto operate in accordance with 3GPP standards, although the scope of theembodiments is not limited in this respect. Mobile devices or otherdevices in some embodiments may be configured to operate according toother protocols or standards, including IEEE 802.11 or other IEEEstandards. In some embodiments, the UE 102, eNB 300 or other device mayinclude one or more of a keyboard, a display, a non-volatile memoryport, multiple antennas, a graphics processor, an application processor,speakers, and other mobile device elements. The display may be an LCDscreen including a touch screen.

Although the eNB 300 is illustrated as having several separatefunctional elements, one or more of the functional elements may becombined and may be implemented by combinations of software-configuredelements, such as processing elements including digital signalprocessors (DSPs), and/or other hardware elements. For example, someelements may comprise one or more microprocessors, DSPs,field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) andcombinations of various hardware and logic circuitry for performing atleast the functions described herein. In some embodiments, thefunctional elements may refer to one or more processes operating on oneor more processing elements.

Embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware,firmware and software. Embodiments may also be implemented asinstructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may beread and executed by at least one processor to perform the operationsdescribed herein. A computer-readable storage device may include anynon-transitory mechanism for storing information in a form readable by amachine (e.g., a computer). For example, a computer-readable storagedevice may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM),magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memorydevices, and other storage devices and media. Some embodiments mayinclude one or more processors and may be configured with instructionsstored on a computer-readable storage device.

It should be noted that in some embodiments, an apparatus used by theeNB 300 may include various components of the eNB 300 as shown in FIG. 3and/or the machine 200 shown in FIG. 2. Accordingly, techniques andoperations described herein that refer to the eNB 300 (or 104) may beapplicable to an apparatus for an eNB.

In accordance with some embodiments, primary usage of shared spectrum byincumbent devices may be prioritized over secondary usage of the sharedspectrum. A mobile network shared spectrum controller may operate aspart of a domain of a mobile network. A public shared spectrumcontroller may operate externally to the mobile network domain. Themobile network shared spectrum controller and the public shared spectrumcontroller may operate cooperatively to perform operations of a sharedspectrum controller, such as management of secondary usage of sharedspectrum by a group of eNBs. The mobile network shared spectrumcontroller may obfuscate at least a portion of network configurationinformation from the public shared spectrum controller to enablemaintenance of confidential information within the mobile networkdomain. These embodiments will be described in more detail below.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of spectrum sharing in accordance withsome embodiments. In some embodiments, shared spectrum may be used byand/or allocated to different devices based on a usage priority. In somecases, incumbent devices and/or systems, which may be referred to as“tier-1” or other, may use the shared spectrum with a highest priority.Examples of incumbent devices and/or systems include radar, military,government and/or other devices and/or systems, although embodiments arenot limited to these examples. In some cases, other devices and/orsystems, which may be referred to as “tier-2” or “tier-3” or other, mayuse the shared spectrum in accordance with the usage priority. Forinstance, when incumbent devices are not using the shared spectrum, oneor more base stations may use the shared spectrum for wirelesscommunication with one or more mobile devices in compliance withapplicable policies for usage of the shared spectrum. Accordingly, suchtier-2 and/or tier-3 devices may include base stations, mobile devicesand/or other devices in some cases.

In some embodiments, Spectrum Access System (SAS) spectrum sharingtechniques may be used, although embodiments are not limited to the useof SAS for spectrum sharing. In some embodiments, Licensed Shared Access(LSA) spectrum sharing techniques may be used, although embodiments arenot limited to the use of LSA for spectrum sharing. It should be notedthat embodiments are not limited to the number of eNBs 405, UEs 410,cells or other elements shown in FIG. 4. Embodiments are also notlimited to the arrangement shown in FIG. 4. In addition, embodiments arenot limited to the usage of eNBs 405 and UEs 410 (which may be arrangedto operate according to a 3GPP LTE protocol). For instance, APs, STAs,other base station components and/or other mobile devices may be used insome embodiments.

In the spectrum sharing scenario 400, the eNB 405 may communicate with aUE 410 over the wireless link 415. As shown in FIG. 4, the top layer ofcells 420 may indicate communication (between the eNB 405 and the UE410, for instance) in dedicated licensed spectrum. The bottom layer ofcells 430 may indicate communication in shared spectrum, which may beLSA spectrum in this example.

In an example of spectrum sharing using LSA techniques, a 3GPP LTEnetwork may be operated on licensed shared basis in the 2.3-2.4 GHzfrequency band which corresponds to 3GPP LTE Band 40. An incumbent(tier-1) user (or base station) may be prioritized over the licensee(tier-2) user (or base station). For instance, a mobile network operator(MNO) may be required to vacate the LSA band for a given geographicarea, a given frequency range and a given period of time for which theincumbent is requiring access to the resource. In some cases, the LSAband may be combined with LTE operation in dedicated licensed spectrumthrough suitable Carrier Aggregation mechanisms. For instance, somelegacy LTE systems may be based on FDD technology, and the 3GPPRelease-12 FDD/TDD Carrier Aggregation feature may be required for asuitable combination of existing deployment with LTE LSA modes. Itshould be noted that the LSA system approach may also be applied to anyother suitable frequency band and/or any other countries/regions. Forinstance, usage of a 2.7 GHz band may be a potential candidate in Japan.In other frequency bands, the spectrum sharing may be slightly modifiedin order to accommodate for specific requirements, such as propagationcharacteristics of the target frequency band, specifics (such asconfiguration, behavior, etc.) of the incumbent system. Typicalmodifications may include different signal bandwidths (instead of 10 MHzbands for SAS for example), short-time hand-over into target sharedbands and out of them (due to short term spectrum availability due tobehavior of incumbent user).

In an example of spectrum sharing using Spectrum Access System (SAS)techniques, a 3GPP LTE network may be operated on licensed shared basisin the 3.55-3.7 GHz frequency band which corresponds to 3GPP LTE Bands42 and 43. In some cases, SAS may differ from LSA in that licensedspectrum slots may be only available in parts of the entire SAS band (upto 70 MHz) for so-called Primary Access License (PAL or PA) tier-2users. The remaining part of the spectrum, as well as unused portions ofthe PAL spectrum (“use-it-or-share-it” rule), may be available to a newuser class called General Authorized Access (GAA) tier-3 users. Thistier-3 class may not exist in the LSA system definition. GAA users maytypically operate LTE Licensed Assisted Access (LSA) or WiFi typesystems, and may make modifications in order to be adapted to SASrequirements. For instance, such requirements may be imposed by agoverning body, such as the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) orother, in some cases. It should be noted that the SAS system approachmay also be applied to any other suitable frequency band and/or anyother countries/regions. For instance, usage of a 2.7 GHz band may be apotential candidate in Japan. In other frequency bands, the spectrumsharing may be slightly modified in order to accommodate for specificrequirements, such as propagation characteristics of the targetfrequency band, specifics (such as configuration, behavior, etc.) of theincumbent system. Typical modifications may include different signalbandwidths (instead of 10 MHz bands for SAS for example), short-timehand-over into target shared bands and out of them (due to short termspectrum availability due to behavior of incumbent user).

It should be noted that both systems, LSA and SAS, may be defined forusage in a specific frequency band. The basic operational principles ofthose systems, however, may be frequency agnostic in some cases, and maybe straightforwardly applied to other bands. For instance, techniquesmay be applied to 3.5 GHz candidate bands in some cases.

In some embodiments, the shared spectrum may be used in combination withfrequency division duplex (FDD) techniques, time division duplex (TDD)techniques and/or carrier aggregation (CA) techniques. As an example, anFDD LTE dedicated licensed band may be operated jointly with a TDDShared Band using any suitable spectrum sharing technique and frequencyband. Non-limiting examples of such may include usage of LSA techniquesin a 2.3-2.4 GHz frequency band and/or usage of SAS techniques in a3.55-3.7 GHz frequency band.

In some embodiments, 3GPP License Assisted Access (LAA) techniques maybe used. As an example, 3GPP LAA techniques may be used for combining anFDD dedicated licensed spectrum with the (license-by-rule) 3.5 GHzGeneral Authorized Spectrum (GAA) blocks. In some cases, modified 3GPPLAA techniques may be used. As another example, 3GPP LAA techniques(which may be modified in some cases) may be used for combining PriorityAccess License (PAL) spectrum blocks in a 3.55-3.7 GHz frequency bandwith GAA spectrum. In some cases, the PAL blocks may take the role ofdedicated licensed spectrum and the GAA spectrum may take the role ofunlicensed-spectrum.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example network for a Licensed Shared Access (LSA)arrangement and an example network for a Spectrum Access System (SAS)arrangement in accordance with some embodiments. It should be noted thatembodiments are not limited to the number of eNBs 505, UEs 510, basestations, mobile devices, cells or other elements shown in FIG. 5.Embodiments are also not limited to the type of components shown in FIG.5 and/or arrangements of the components as shown in FIG. 5. In addition,embodiments are not limited to the usage of eNBs 505 and UEs 510 (whichmay be arranged to operate according to a 3GPP LTE protocol). Forinstance, APs, STAs, other base station components and/or other mobiledevices may be used in some embodiments.

In the spectrum sharing scenario 500, LSA techniques may be used. TheeNB 505 may communicate with a UE 510 over the wireless link 515. Asshown in FIG. 5, the top layer of cells 520 may indicate communication(between the eNB 505 and the UE 510, for instance) in dedicated licensedspectrum. The bottom layer of cells 530 may indicate communication inshared spectrum, which may be LSA spectrum in the example scenario 500.

The LSA Repository 535 may be a centralized database that may be usedfor spectrum management in this scenario 500. The incumbent users 547may be required to provide a-priori usage information to the LSArepository 535 (or database) on the availability of LSA spectrum overspace and time. Depending on this information, the LTE system may begranted access or may be requested to vacate one or more frequency bandsthrough control mechanisms and/or operations that may be performed (atleast partly) by the LSA Controller 540. In this operational approach,sensing mechanisms may not necessarily be required to support the systemfor the identification of incumbent operation.

In some embodiments, one or more of the eNBs 505 may be configured aseNBs 104 configured to operate in the 3GPP network as shown in FIG. 1and may also be configured to operate as part of a network such as 500,and/or other network described herein for spectrum sharing. Accordingly,such an eNB 104 may communicate with the MME 122, serving GW 124, andPDN GW 126 as part of the operation of the 3GPP network, and may alsocommunicate with components included in networks such as 500 and/orothers as part of the spectrum sharing operation. Communication, by theeNB 104, with components in the two networks (3GPP and LSA) may or maynot be independent and/or related.

In the spectrum sharing scenario 550, SAS techniques may be used.Embodiments are not limited to the number, arrangement and/or type ofbase stations used. As an example, one or more Citizens BroadbandService Devices (CBSD) 560 may be used. A CBSD may be or may include abase station component that operates in shared spectrum according torules defined and/or enforced by a governing body (such as the FCC) orother entity. As another example, one or more eNBs may be used.Embodiments are not limited to the number, arrangement and/or type ofmobile devices that may communicate with the CBSDs 560 (or other basestation component) in the shared spectrum and/or other spectrum. As anexample, any number of users 555 may be used, in which a user may be amobile device and/or stationary device, such as a UE, STA or other.

In some embodiments, one or more of the CBSDs 560 may be configured aseNBs 104 configured to operate in the 3GPP network as shown in FIG. 1and may also be configured to operate as part of a network such as 550,and/or other network described herein for spectrum sharing. Accordingly,such an eNB 104 may communicate with the MME 122, serving GW 124, andPDN GW 126 as part of the operation of the 3GPP network, and may alsocommunicate with components included in networks such as 550 and/orothers as part of the spectrum sharing operation. Communication, by theeNB 104, with components in the two networks (3GPP and SAS) may or maynot be independent and/or related.

In some embodiments, SAS may be designed to ensure coexistence withincumbent users who may not be able to provide any a-priori informationto a central database. In some cases, such design considerations maydiffer in comparison to LSA. In some cases, an Environmental SensingCapability (ESC) 580 component may perform sensing tasks. As anon-limiting example, the ESC 580 may be included for militaryapplications. In some cases, spectrum access decisions for tier-3 andtier-2 users may be based at least partly on such sensing results. Asnon-limiting example, unlicensed systems such as Wi-Fi (802.11) orBluetooth, may be tier-3 users.

As an example, the FCC and/or other entity may mandate and/or advisethat a spectrum sharing technique, such as SAS, be used to coordinateusage of shared spectrum between incumbent devices, PA devices and/orGAA devices. Accordingly, it may be mandatory that tier-2 and tier-3devices communicate with the SAS constantly or at least continuouslywhile operating in the shared spectrum in order to ensure compliance bythe tier-2 and/or tier-3 devices.

It should be noted that embodiments and/or exemplary scenarios describedherein may involve devices (including PAL user devices for SAS, GAA userdevices for SAS, LSA Licensee user devices for LSA, incumbent users forany systems, other mobile devices, and/or other devices) operatingand/or arranged to operate according to 3GPP (Third GenerationPartnership Project) specifications, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE)and Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) and LTE-Advanced Pro. However,it is understood that such embodiments and/or exemplary scenarios may besimilarly applied to other mobile communication technologies andstandards, such as any Cellular Wide Area radio communicationtechnology, which may include e.g. a 5th Generation (5G) communicationsystems, a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) radiocommunication technology, a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) radiocommunication technology, an Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution(EDGE) radio communication technology, and/or a Third GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) radio communication technology (e.g. UMTS(Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), FOMA (Freedom ofMultimedia Access), 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution), 3GPP LTE Advanced(Long Term Evolution Advanced)), 3GPP LTE-Advanced Pro, CDMA2000 (Codedivision multiple access 2000), CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data),Mobitex, 3G (Third Generation), CSD (Circuit Switched Data), HSCSD(High-Speed Circuit-Switched Data), UMTS (3G) (Universal MobileTelecommunications System (Third Generation)), W-CDMA (UMTS) (WidebandCode Division Multiple Access (Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem)), HSPA (High Speed Packet Access), HSDPA (High-Speed DownlinkPacket Access), HSUPA (High-Speed Uplink Packet Access), HSPA+(HighSpeed Packet Access Plus), UMTS-TDD (Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem—Time-Division Duplex), TD-CDMA (Time Division—Code DivisionMultiple Access), TD-CDMA (Time Division—Synchronous Code DivisionMultiple Access), 3GPP Rel. 8 (Pre-4G) (3rd Generation PartnershipProject Release 8 (Pre-4th Generation)), 3GPP Rel. 9 (3rd GenerationPartnership Project Release 9), 3GPP Rel. 10 (3rd Generation PartnershipProject Release 10), 3GPP Rel. 11 (3rd Generation Partnership ProjectRelease 11), 3GPP Rel. 12 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release12), 3GPP Rel. 13 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 14), 3GPPRel. 14 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 14), 3GPP Rel. 15(3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 15), 3GPP Rel. 16 (3rdGeneration Partnership Project Release 16), 3GPP Rel. 17 (3rd GenerationPartnership Project Release 17), 3GPP LTE Extra, LTE Licensed-AssistedAccess (LAA), UTRA (UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access), E-UTRA (Evolved UMTSTerrestrial Radio Access), LTE Advanced (4G) (Long Term EvolutionAdvanced (4th Generation)), ETSI OneM2M, IoT (Internet of things),cdmaOne (2G), CDMA2000 (3G) (Code division multiple access 2000 (Thirdgeneration)), EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized or Evolution-Data Only),AMPS (1G) (Advanced Mobile Phone System (1st Generation)), TACS/ETACS(Total Access Communication System/Extended Total Access CommunicationSystem), D-AMPS (2G) (Digital AMPS (2nd Generation)), PTT(Push-to-talk), MTS (Mobile Telephone System), IMTS (Improved MobileTelephone System), AMTS (Advanced Mobile Telephone System), OLT(Norwegian for Offentlig Landmobil Telefoni, Public Land MobileTelephony), MTD (Swedish abbreviation for Mobiltelefonisystem D, orMobile telephony system D), Autotel/PALM (Public Automated Land Mobile),ARP (Finnish for Autoradiopuhelin or “car radio phone”), NMT (NordicMobile Telephony), Hicap (High capacity version of NTT (Nippon Telegraphand Telephone)), CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data), Mobitex, DataTAC,iDEN (Integrated Digital Enhanced Network), PDC (Personal DigitalCellular), CSD (Circuit Switched Data), PHS (Personal Handy-phoneSystem), WiDEN (Wideband Integrated Digital Enhanced Network), iBurst,Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA, also referred to as also referred to as3GPP Generic Access Network, or GAN standard)), Wireless GigabitAlliance (WiGig) standard, mmWave standards in general (wireless systemsoperating at 10-90 GHz and above such as WiGig, IEEE 802.11ad, IEEE802.11ay and/or others) and/or others. The embodiments and/or examplesprovided herein are thus understood as being applicable to various othermobile communication technologies, both existing and not yet formulated.

In some cases, such devices may be arranged to support wireless and/orwired communication that may or may not necessarily be defined by astandard, in addition to or instead of the mobile communicationtechnologies and/or standards described above.

As an example, spectrum sharing may be performed and/or implemented inthe 2.3-2.4 GHz band. As another example, spectrum sharing may beperformed and/or implemented in the 3.55-3.7 GHz band (US). Forinstance, some embodiments described herein may be applicable toarrangements in which small cells may be used in accordance with SAStechniques in the 3.55-3.7 GHz band. As another example, some or all ofthe techniques described herein may be applicable to other frequencybands. For instance, broadband wireless communication bands below 6 GHzor cmWave/mmWave bands from 6 GHz to 100 GHz may be used in some cases.In some embodiments, additional techniques may be used for spectrumsharing. For instance, techniques for accommodation of fast adaptationrequirements by the incumbents may be used.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example LSA network architecture in accordancewith some embodiments. In some embodiments, the network 600 and/or othernetworks may be used for allocation of shared frequency spectrum forsecondary usage. In some cases, the spectrum may be used by an incumbentdevice for primary usage and/or priority usage. Such spectrum may beused infrequently or for a limited time period in some cases. As anexample, a television channel may be off the air during an overnighttime period. As another example, radar signals may be transmitted indedicated spectrum at an infrequent rate.

It should be noted that embodiments are not limited to the number, typeand/or arrangement of components shown in the example network 600. Someembodiments may not necessarily include all components shown in theexample network 600, and some embodiments may include additionalcomponents not shown in FIG. 6. As an example, embodiments are notlimited to the usage of the functional blocks shown in the examplenetwork 600.

Examples of operations that may be performed by some of the blocks shownin FIG. 6 will be given below, although it is understood thatembodiments are not limited by the example operations. In someembodiments, some or all of the blocks may not necessarily perform alloperations described below and may perform additional operations in somecases. For instance, in some embodiments, an operation described belowmay be performed by a different block and/or by multiple blocks.Although a block-oriented approach is illustrated in the example LSAnetwork 600, it is understood that embodiments are not limited to theusage of separate blocks as shown. Accordingly, operations describedbelow may be performed by the example LSA network 600 using any suitableimplementation.

In some embodiments, the LSA network 600 may include an LSA controller540 and an LSA repository 535, which may perform operations as part ofvarious blocks as shown in FIG. 6 and described below. In addition, theLSA information exchange block 640 and system support block 620 mayinclude operations that may be performed by the LSA controller 540, theLSA repository 535 or both, in some cases.

Example operations that may be performed by the LSA information exchangeblock 640 are described below. It should be noted that in some cases,one or more operations described below may be performed by the LSAController 540, LSA Repository 535 and/or both.

In some embodiments, spectrum availability/unavailability informationmay be made available by the incumbent to the LSA Repository 535. As anexample, the spectrum availability/unavailability information may bemade available to the LSA Controller 540 (by the LSA Repository 535)either upon request, such as through usage of a pull mechanism in whicha pull trigger may be sent from the LSA Controller 540 to the LSARepository 535. As another example, the spectrumavailability/unavailability information may be made available to the LSAController 540 through a (cyclic) provision of the information by theLSA Repository 535 without requiring a specific trigger (pushmechanism). In some cases, the spectrum availability/unavailabilityinformation may be delivered according to intervals (such as once every30 minutes or other interval). In some cases, the spectrumavailability/unavailability information may be delivered upon occurrenceof an event, such as when one or more information elements (related tospectrum availability, for instance) changes.

Examples of the spectrum availability/unavailability information sent tothe LSA controller 540 may include, but are not limited to, a spectrumavailability start time, a spectrum availability end time, a spectrumunavailability start time and/or a spectrum unavailability end time.These times may indicate periods in which spectrum is available orunavailable for usage by the LSA licensee. As an example, starting timesmay include any or all of a starting year, month, day, hour, minute,second, millisecond, microsecond, other time unit, a number of timeintervals, a number of distinct time intervals and/or other parameters.As another example, ending times may include any or all of an endingyear, month, day, hour, minute, second, millisecond, microsecond, othertime unit, a number of time intervals, a number of distinct timeintervals and/or other parameters. As another example, a spectrumunavailability time may indicate a time in which spectrum is unavailablefor usage by the LSA licensee or may indicate a time interval outside ofwhich the spectrum is available for usage by the LSA Licensee.

Examples of the spectrum availability/unavailability information sent tothe LSA controller 540 may also include, but are not limited to, aspectrum availability frequency band and/or a spectrum unavailabilityfrequency band, which may indicate one or more frequency bands that areavailable or unavailable for usage by the LSA licensee. As an example,the information may include any or all of a start frequency, stopfrequency, frequency band number, a number of frequency bands, a numberof distinct frequency bands and/or other parameters.

Examples of the spectrum availability/unavailability information sent tothe LSA controller 540 may also include, but are not limited to, aspectrum availability geographic area and/or a spectrum unavailabilitygeographic area, which may indicate one or more geographic areas inwhich spectrum is available or unavailable for usage by the LSAlicensee. As an example, the information may include GPS coordinates,GNSS information, a number of GPS coordinates and/or other parameters,and may describe one or more geographic areas (such as in terms ofboundaries, north-west limit, south-east limit or similar). Forinstance, two or more geographic points may indicate a rectangular shapeand/or other shape. In some cases, a geographic area number (such as anindex) may be included in the information, in which geographic areas maybe predefined and numbered for such cases.

In some embodiments, as part of the LSA information exchange block 640or otherwise, an information provision trigger may be sent by the LSAController 540 to the LSA Repository 535. Examples of such triggers mayinclude, but are not limited to, a request for spectrum availabilityinformation and/or a request for spectrum unavailability information.For instance, such requests may include a request to provide a latestavailability period (such as a request for latest/next-upcoming spectrumavailability period for spectrum usage by LSA Licensee), a request toprovide next availability period(s) and/or a number of periods (requestfor the next “number of periods” spectrum availability periods forspectrum usage by LSA Licensee), a request to provide all availabilityperiods (request for all known next spectrum availability periods forspectrum usage by LSA Licensee) and/or other suitable requests relatedto spectrum availability. In addition, such requests may also includesimilar requests related to spectrum unavailability, in some cases.

In some embodiments, as part of the LSA information exchange block 640or otherwise, kill switch information may be sent by the LSA Controller540 to the LSA Repository 535. Such information may indicate one or morefrequency bands that may need to be vacated in one or more geographicareas during one or more time periods. Examples of such information mayinclude, but are not limited to, a starting time and/or ending time(year, month, day, hour, minute, second, millisecond, microsecond and/orother time unit), a start frequency, a stop frequency, a frequency bandnumber, GPS coordinates limiting a geographic area (such as GPS, GNSSand/or other coordinates that may define boundaries for a geographicarea, a number of GPS coordinates (number of GPS coordinates providedper geographic area), a number of availability areas (number ofgeographic areas provided), a geographic area number (in whichgeographic areas may be predefined and numbered according to an index).

In some embodiments, as part of the LSA information exchange block 640or otherwise, an LSA Repository heartbeat message may be sent from theLSA Repository 535 to the LSA Controller 540 to indicate an availabilityof the LSA Repository 535. In some embodiments, as part of the LSAinformation exchange block 640 or otherwise, an LSA Controller heartbeatmessage may be sent from the LSA Controller 540 to the LSA Repository535 to indicate an availability of the LSA Controller 540.

Referring back to FIG. 6, the system support block 620 may performoperations related to security support, robustness, reliability, faultmanagement and/or other aspects. Example operations that may beperformed by the system support block 620 are described below. It shouldbe noted that in some cases, one or more operations described below maybe performed by the LSA Controller 540, LSA Repository 535 and/or both.

In some embodiments, as part of the system support block 620 orotherwise, the LSA Repository 535 [LSA Controller 540] may report that amalicious attack has occurred and/or has been detected. Relatedinformation to be reported may include an attack type, such as denial ofservice, man in the middle, alteration of information/data, substitutionof functional entities, zero-level attack, attack through weakness ofthe system, attack of encryption and/or other types of attack. Therelated information to be reported may also include a severity level,such as low, medium, high, critical and/or other level. For instance,depending on the severity level, one or more countermeasures may beinitiated in some cases. An example countermeasure may includeprevention of the target LSA Licensee from using some or all of the LSAspectrum. Another example countermeasure may include reporting of eventsto higher entities (such as a super-user, manager, maintenance user,and/or other user of the LSA Repository 535 and/or LSA Controller 540, aNetwork Operator representative, an Incumbent representative and/orother higher entity). The related information reported may also berelated to a time of attack (start year, start month, start day, starthour, start minute, start second, start millisecond, start microsecondand/or other). The related information reported may also be related to anumber of attacks. The related information reported may also be relatedto an attacked entity, such as which system entity is affected by one ormore attacks and at which level. In addition, a reset or substitution ofentities (such as the affected entities or all entities) may berequested. Such entities may be identified, in some cases, by an ID suchas a numeric ID, alpha-numerical ID and/or other ID.

In some embodiments, as part of the system support block 620 orotherwise, the LSA Repository 535 [LSA Controller 540] may selectsecurity measures as part of the operation. As an example, the LSARepository 535 [LSA Controller 540] may request that the LSA Controller540 [LSA Repository 535] to use a type of encryption, authenticationand/or other suitable security mechanism for information exchange. Suchsecurity mechanisms may be pre-defined in some cases.

In some embodiments, as part of the system support block 620 orotherwise, an LSA Repository heartbeat message may be sent from the LSARepository 535 to the LSA Controller 540 to indicate an availability ofthe LSA Repository 535. In some embodiments, as part of the systemsupport block 620 or otherwise, an LSA Controller heartbeat message maybe sent from the LSA Controller 540 to the LSA Repository 535 toindicate an availability of the LSA Controller 540.

In some embodiments, as part of the system support block 620 orotherwise, the LSA Repository 535 [LSA Controller 540] may reportfailures to each other. As an example, an internal failure of the LSARepository 535 [LSA Controller 540] may be reported to the LSAController 540 [LSA Repository 535]. As another example, the LSARepository 535 [LSA Controller 540] may indicate an observation offailure in the LSA Controller 540 [LSA Repository 535]. Informationexchanged as part of these and other examples may include, but is notlimited to, a failure source (such as whether failure has occurred inthe LSA Repository 535 [LSA Controller 540] or has been observed in theLSA Controller 540 [LSA Repository 535]), a severity level of a failure(such as low, medium, high, critical and/or other level) and/or otherinformation. In some cases, depending on the level of severity of thefailure, certain countermeasures may be initiated, including preventionof one or more LSA Licensees from using some or all of the LSA spectrum,reporting of events to higher entities (such as those describedelsewhere and/or others) and/or other countermeasures.

Information exchanged as part of the failure reporting may also includea failure type. Examples of failure types are given below, but it isunderstood that embodiments are not limited to these examples. Anexample failure type may include an “unexpected information” type, inwhich an unexpected information element may be provided, the source ofwhich may be requested to come back to a safe state in some cases.Another example failure type may include an “erroneous information”type, in which a provided information element cannot be decodedcorrectly, due to an erroneous transmission, an erroneous composition ofthe information and/or other reason. In such a case, a retransmissionmay be requested. If this retransmission fails, the source may berequested to come back to a safe state. Another example failure type mayinclude a “no response” type, in which a message from the source may beexpected but no information element is provided. The message may includea heartbeat signal, a response to request for available resources and/orother signal. In some cases, the source may be requested to come back toa safe state. Another example failure type may include a “wrongconfiguration” type, in which the source may be identified to operate ina wrong/unexpected state. For instance, the LSA Repository 535 [LSAController 540] may identify (using sensing and/or other techniques)that the LSA Controller 540 [LSA Repository 535] is operating and/orgranting usage in frequency bands which are not available for LSALicensees. In some cases, the source may be requested to come back to asafe state. Another example failure type may include a “going out oforder” type, in which the LSA Repository 535 [LSA Controller 540] mayannounce, to the LSA Controller 540 [LSA Repository 535] or othersuitable entity, that it is going out of service or out of order. Insome cases, the LSA Controller 540 [LSA Repository 535] may be requestedto connect to a different LSA Repository 535 [LSA Controller 540] (ifavailable) or to seize the usage of the concerned LSA band.

Referring back to FIG. 6, example operations that may be performed bythe information mapping block 630 are described below. It should benoted that in some cases, one or more operations described below may beperformed by the LSA Controller 540, although embodiments are notlimited as such.

In some embodiments, as part of the information mapping block 630 orotherwise, the LC Controller 540 may receive spectrum availabilityinformation either directly from the LSA Repository 535 or throughinteraction with the LSA Information Exchange block 640. For instance,information on spectrum availability/unavailability in time, frequency(bands) and/or geographic area(s) may be received. Although not limitedas such, some or all of the information described regarding the LSAInformation Exchange block 640 may be received at the LC Controller 540.

In some embodiments, as part of the information mapping block 630 orotherwise, the LC Controller 540 may exchange information related toconfirmation of reception of spectrum availability information eitherdirectly from the LSA Repository or through interaction with the LSAInformation Exchange block 640. Example information types may include,but are not limited to, “spectrum availability information received”(that is, an acknowledgement that the information was correctlyreceived), “spectrum availability information partly received” (that is,an acknowledgement that part of the information was correctly receivedand/or that a retransmission needs to be initiated), “spectrumavailability information erroneous” (that is, information wasincorrectly received and/or needs to be retransmitted, “informationmissing” (that is, information was expected to be delivered but it didnot reach the destination), “information validity” (that is, anindication of which time interval(s), which frequency band(s) and/or forwhich geographic area for which the reception is confirmed).

In some embodiments, as part of the information mapping block 630 orotherwise, the LC Controller 540 may exchange information related toconfirmation of reception triggers. Example information types mayinclude, but are not limited to, a trigger type (such as a kill switch,a trigger for delivering information and/or other trigger), “triggerreceived” (that is, a trigger message was correctly received and will beprocessed), “trigger erroneous” (that is, a trigger message wasincorrectly received and/or needs to be retransmitted), “triggermissing” (that is, a trigger was expected to be received but no messagereached the destination), “confirm trigger execution” (that is, aprocessing of a trigger is confirmed, such as an emergency vacating ofthe target band has been executed in case of a kill switch).

In some embodiments, as part of the information mapping block 630 orotherwise, the LC Controller 540 may exchange information related toconfiguration of the MFCN. In some cases, depending on received spectrumavailability information, the possible usage of newlyavailable/unavailable (shared) frequency bands may be communicated tothe MFCN (operator network). Information types may include, but are notlimited to, frequency band availability (which may indicate whichfrequency band(s) is (are) available for which time period and overwhich geographic area), frequency band unavailability (which mayindicate which frequency band(s) is (are) unavailable for which timeperiod and over which geographic area), a kill switch (which mayindicate which frequency band(s) need(s) to be vacated, when thefrequency band(s) need(s) to be vacated and/or over which geographicarea(s) the frequency band(s) need(s) to be vacated.

Referring back to FIG. 6, example operations that may be performed byone or both of the system management blocks 625, 635 are describedbelow. It should be noted that one or more operations described belowmay be performed by the system management blocks 625 of the LSARepository 535, in some cases. In addition, one or more of theoperations described below may be performed by the system managementblocks 635 of the LSA Controller 540, in some cases.

In some embodiments, as part of the system management blocks 625 and/or635 or otherwise, operation tasks, administration and/or maintenancetasks in the LSA System may be performed. In addition, identitymanagement tasks, such as management of user identity, authenticationand/or user authorization profiles, may be performed as part of thesystem management blocks 625 and/or 635 or otherwise.

As an example, an “Administration Mode,” such as a superuser,supervisor, administration and/or management mode may be activated. Sucha mode may provide access to internal LSA system information. Anauthentication of the requestor may be performed (that is, authorizationdetails may be provided to assure that the requestor is authorized toactivate the administration mode). A type of administration mode may beactivated in some cases. Example types may include “deep inspection”(which may allow access to all relevant parameters and informationelements); “average inspection” (which may allow access to selectedelements); “light inspection” (which may allow access to some basic(limited) parameters and/or information elements); and/or other types.An activation period over which the administration mode may and/orshould be active (such as a number of seconds, minutes, hours, daysand/or other time unit) may be indicated in some cases.

As another example, an authentication may be performed, in which accessrights in the LSA Controller 540 and/or the LSA Repository 535 may beauthenticated. Related information types and/or parameters may include,but are not limited to, an authentication ID, such as an identifier of aparty requesting authentication; an authentication code, such as apassword or similar identification code of indicated ID; ade-authentication ID, such as an ID to be de-authenticated for whichaccess to the system may be interrupted; an authentication level, suchas a “super user” that may request access to all types of relevantfunctions, a “privileged user” that may request access to an extended(pre-defined) set of functions, a “standard user” that may requestaccess to a standard (pre-defined) set of functions, a “visitor user”that may request access to a restricted (pre-defined) set of functionsand/or other user type; an authentication period (which may be given inseconds, minutes, hours, days and/or other time unit) over which theauthentication may be active, should be active and/or after which theuser may be automatically de-authenticated; a user profile which mayprovide user profile information such as a name, email address, userprivileges, user preferences, access rights, access limitations, usagehistory information and/or other information.

Referring back to FIG. 6, example operations that may be performed bythe reporting block 605 are described below. It should be noted that insome cases, one or more operations described below may be performed bythe LSA Repository 535, although embodiments are not limited as such.

In some embodiments, as part of the reporting block 605 or otherwise,the LSA Repository 535 may receive a trigger for reporting, such as arequest for an immediate creation of reports or a request for a cyclic(repeated after certain interval(s)) creation of reports indicating theusage of the LSA Spectrum. Examples of such requests may include, butare not limited to, “trigger immediate reporting” (request for immediateprovision of report on usage of LSA resources), “cyclic request forreporting” (request for cyclic delivery of report on usage of LSAresources, which may indicate a repetition time for delivery, which maybe defined by seconds, minutes, hours, days and/or other time unit insome cases); “trigger stop reporting” (request for stopping (cyclic)delivery of report on usage on LSA resources), “requested reportinginterval” (which may indicate one or more time periods for which theusage of LSA resources is to be reported, which may be defined byseconds, minutes, hours, days and/or other time unit in some cases).

In some embodiments, as part of the reporting block 605 or otherwise,the LSA Repository 535 may confirm a reception of a trigger forreporting, such as a request for an immediate and/or cyclic creation ofa report on usage of LSA resources. Related information elements and/orparameters may include, but are not limited to, “confirm triggerreception” (which may confirm successful reception of a trigger),“erroneous trigger reception” (which may indicate that reception oftrigger was not successful) and/or other.

In some embodiments, as part of the reporting block 605 or otherwise,the LSA Repository 535 may deliver a report on usage of LSA resources.Related information elements and/or parameters may include, but are notlimited to, an LSA usage period, which may indicate time period(s) forusage of the LSA resources, related geographic area(s), relatedfrequency band(s) where LSA resources have been used; output powerlevels, which may indicate output power levels applied for eNBs, basestations, UEs, mobile devices and/or other devices operating in LSAspectrum; a number of LSA UEs, which may be UEs that operate and/or haveoperated in LSA bands; geographic areas and/or frequency bands in whichthe LSA UEs operate and/or have operated; a combination of LSA bands,such as which LSA bands have been combined through FDD/TDD CarrierAggregation and/or other techniques, other bands (such as dedicatedlicensed bands and/or other bands) with which the LSA bands have beencombined; access requests, which may indicate types of access requests,such as which super-users, privileged users, standard users and/or otherusers have obtained access; failure events, such as types and/or timesof failure events that have occurred. As an example of a failure event,an information exchange between LSA Repository 535 and LSA Controller540 (or related OD/NOD functions) may operate incorrectly. As anotherexample of a failure event, one or more malicious attacks may occur.Other failure events described herein may also be applicable.

Referring back to FIG. 6, example operations that may be performed bythe information processing block 610 are described below. It should benoted that in some cases, one or more operations described below may beperformed by the LSA Repository 535, although embodiments are notlimited as such.

In some embodiments, as part of the information processing block 610 orotherwise, the LSA Repository 535 may process information elementsand/or exchange messages including, but not limited to, those describedbelow. As an example, a “request information for processing” informationelement may provide a list of LSA operation related parameters to bedelivered. Although not limited as such, the operation parameters mayinclude some or all of those described herein related to other blocks ofFIG. 6 and/or other operation parameters. As another example, a“delivery information for processing” information element may providerequested LSA operation related parameters. Although not limited assuch, the operation parameters may include some or all of thosedescribed herein related to other blocks of FIG. 6 and/or otheroperation parameters. As another example, a “confirm reception ofinformation for processing” information element may confirm a receptionof requested LSA operation related parameters. Although not limited assuch, the operation parameters may include some or all of thosedescribed herein related to other blocks of FIG. 6 and/or otheroperation parameters. For instance, a “confirm reception” parameter mayconfirm successful reception of information and an “erroneous reception”parameter may indicate that reception was not successful.

Referring back to FIG. 6, example operations that may be performed bythe information entry block 615 are described below. It should be notedthat in some cases, one or more operations described below may beperformed by the LSA Repository 535, although embodiments are notlimited as such.

In some embodiments, as part of the information processing block 615 orotherwise, the LSA Repository 535 may process information elementsand/or exchange messages including, but not limited to, those describedbelow. As an example, a “request information to LSA system” informationelement may provide a list of LSA operation related parameters to bedelivered. Although not limited as such, the operation parameters mayinclude some or all of those described herein related to other blocks ofFIG. 6 and/or other operation parameters. For instance, information on asharing agreements between incumbent(s) and LSA Licensee(s); anindicator of stakeholder identities (incumbents/LSA Licensees); avalidity period of sharing agreement (such as a start time and/or endtime); sharing conditions (under which conditions the LSA Licensee maybe allowed to use the spectrum, whether spectrum is declared to beavailable by the incumbent to LSA Repository 535 and/or other sharingconditions; sharing obligations (such as obligations for LSA Licensee tobe allowed to use the spectrum, payment of a specific amount of moneyduring a usage period and/or other sharing obligations.

As another example, a “delivery information to LSA system” informationelement may provide requested LSA operation related parameters. Althoughnot limited as such, the operation parameters may include some or all ofthose described herein related to other blocks of FIG. 6 and/or otheroperation parameters. For instance, some or all of the parametersdescribed regarding the “request information to LSA system” informationelement may be used, in some cases.

As another example, a “confirm reception to LSA system” informationelement may confirm reception of requested LSA operation relatedparameters. Although not limited as such, the operation parameters mayinclude some or all of those described herein related to other blocks ofFIG. 6 and/or other operation parameters. For instance, some or all ofthe parameters described regarding the “request information to LSAsystem” information element may be used, in some cases. In addition,other parameters such as “confirm reception” (which may confirmsuccessful reception of information), “erroneous reception” (which mayindicate that reception was not successful) and/or others may be used,in some cases.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example network architecture in which an LSAController may be divided and an example network architecture in whichan LSA Repository may be divided in accordance with some embodiments. Itshould be noted that embodiments are not limited to the number, typeand/or arrangement of blocks in the example LSA networks 700, 750 shownin FIG. 7. In some embodiments, some or all of the operations describedregarding the example LSA network 600 may be performed by one or moreblocks of the example LSA networks 700, 750, although the scope ofembodiments is not limited in this respect.

In the example LSA network 700, the LSA Repository 535 and a firstportion (710) of the LSA Controller 540 may be excluded from, may beoutside of or may operate externally to an operator network. A secondportion (720) of the LSA Controller 540 may be included in, may be partof or may operate internally to the operator network. In these and othercases, portions of the LSA Controller outside of and inside of theoperator network may be referred to as a “non-operator domain LSAController” (LC-NOD) 710 and an “operator domain LSA Controller” (LC-OD)720, respectively.

In some embodiments (such as the example LSA network 700), the LSAController 540 may be divided in terms of functionality, availableinformation and/or other aspects. As shown in the example LSA network700 in FIG. 7, the information mapping block 730, the system supportblock 735 and/or the LC system management block 740 (which may performsome or all of the operations described regarding similar blocks in FIG.6) may be split across the LC-NOD 710 and the LC-OD 720 in someembodiments. In some embodiments, one or more functionalities (orsub-functionalities) may be split between the LC-OD 720 and the LC-NOD710. As an example, operations and/or functions related to theinformation mapping block 730, system support block 735 and/or the LCsystem management block 740 may be split between the LC-NOD 710 and theLC-OD 720. It should also be noted that the “LSA information exchange”block and its related operations may or may not be partly in the LC-OD720 in some cases, which may depend on implementation.

As an example, some or all operator critical information may be managedwithin the LC-OD 720 while generic information may be available in theLC-NOD 710. As another example, all information confidential to a singleoperator may be treated within the domain of that operator (i.e. withinthe concerned LC-OD 720 (located in an NMLS, to be described below).Non-confidential information may be processed outside of the Operator'sdomain within the LC-NOD 710. Such arrangements may have an advantagethat some confidential information may be maintained within the operatornetwork. Such arrangements may have a disadvantage that some informationmay be available outside of the operator network.

In the example LSA network 750, a first portion of the LSA Repository535 may be excluded from, may be outside of or may operate externally toan operator network. A second portion of the LSA Repository 535 and anLSA Controller 540 may be included in, may be part of or may operateinternally to the operator network. In these and other cases, portionsof the LSA Repository 535 outside of and inside of the operator networkmay be referred to as a “non-operator domain LSA Repository” (LR-NOD)760 and an “operator domain LSA Controller” (LR-OD) 770, respectively.In the example network 750, the LSA Repository 535 may be divided (interms of functionality, available information and/or other aspects) intothe LR-NOD 760 and the LR-OD 770.

As an example, some or all operator critical information may be managedwithin the LR-OD 770 while generic information may be available in theLR-NOD 710. As another example, all information confidential to a singleoperator may be treated within the domain of that operator (i.e. withinthe concerned LR-OD 770 (located in an NMLS, to be described below).Non-confidential information may be processed outside of the Operator'sdomain within the LR-NOD 760. In some cases, such an arrangement mayhave an advantage that external access to information may be minimizedor reduced. Such arrangements may have a disadvantage that joint controlof multiple networks may be challenging without a central LSA Controlentity. In some cases, some or all information confidential to anoperator may be treated within the domain of the operator,

In some embodiments (such as the example networks 700, 750), such asplitting of the LSA Repository 535 and/or LSA Controller 540 across anMNO domain may be performed to maintain confidentiality within the MNOnetwork of data, user data, network data, configuration data, deploymentdata and/or other types of data (or at least to maintain a portion ofsuch data as confidential). Such a splitting may also be performed toenable the mobile network operator (MNO) to maintain control (or atleast partial control) of various operations such as those describedpreviously regarding FIG. 6 and/or other operations. In someembodiments, some or all information processed in the MNO domain may be(operator) confidential information which should not be communicatedoutside of the MNO domain (that is, to a Non-MNO Domain). A split offunctionality between MNO domain and Non-MNO domain may serve to forwardand/or manage information elements, configuration information and/orother information. Accordingly, an operation may be performed in such away that relevant information may be provided from the MNO domain to theNon-MNO domain and vice versa, but may be performed in accordance withmaintenance of the operator confidential information within the MNOdomain.

It should be noted that embodiments in which spectrum sharing controllerand/or spectrum sharing repository components are divided acrossmultiple domains are not limited to LSA techniques. In some embodiments,SAS techniques may be used in accordance with a division of operationsand/or data across the operator domain and non-operator domain. In suchcases, the “LSA Repository” may be replaced by an “SAS Repository”. The“LC NOD” may be replaced by a “SAS-C NOD” (SAS Controller Non-OperatorDomain). The LC OD may be replaced by an “SAS-C OD” (SAS ControllerOperator Domain). In such embodiments, an objective may be to maintainSAS information in the operator domain.

FIG. 8 illustrates example block diagrams of an LSA Controller, LSARepository, SAS Controller, and SAS Repository in accordance with someembodiments. The LSA Controller 800 may be suitable for use as an LSAController 540 as depicted in FIG. 5 and elsewhere herein, in someembodiments. The LSA Repository 820 may be suitable for use as an LSARepository 535 as depicted in FIG. 5 and elsewhere herein, in someembodiments. The SAS Controller 850 may be suitable for use as an SASController 570 as depicted in FIG. 5 and elsewhere herein, in someembodiments.

It should also be noted that any or all of the LSA Controller 800, LSARepository 820, SAS Controller 850, and SAS Repository 870 may beconfigured to operate internal to and/or external to an operatornetwork, as described previously. In some embodiments, the LSAController 800 may be configured to operate as an LC-OD and/or LC-NOD.In some embodiments, the LSA Repository 820 may be configured to operateas an LR-OD and/or LR-NOD. In some embodiments, the SAS Controller 850may be configured to operate as an operator domain SAS Controller and/ora non-operator domain SAS Controller. In some embodiments, the SASRepository 870 may be configured to operate as an operator domain SASRepository and/or a non-operator domain SAS Repository.

The LSA Controller 800 may include processing circuitry 806 and memory808 arranged to perform the operations described herein. The LSAController 800 may also include one or more interfaces 809, which mayenable communication with other components, including the LSA Repository820, eNBs and/or other components. The interfaces 809 may be wired orwireless or a combination thereof. The LSA Repository 820 may includeprocessing circuitry 826 and memory 828 arranged to perform theoperations described herein. The LSA Repository 820 may also include oneor more interfaces 829, which may enable communication with othercomponents, including the LSA Controller 800, eNBs and/or othercomponents. The interfaces 829 may be wired or wireless or a combinationthereof.

The SAS Controller 850 may include processing circuitry 856 and memory858 arranged to perform the operations described herein. The SASController 850 may also include one or more interfaces 859, which mayenable communication with other components, including the SAS Repository870, eNBs and/or other components. The interfaces 859 may be wired orwireless or a combination thereof. The SAS Repository 870 may includeprocessing circuitry 876 and memory 878 arranged to perform theoperations described herein. The SAS Repository 870 may also include oneor more interfaces 879, which may enable communication with othercomponents, including the SAS Controller 850, eNBs and/or othercomponents. The interfaces 879 may be wired or wireless or a combinationthereof.

It should be noted that in some embodiments, an LSA Controller mayinclude some or all of the components shown in either FIG. 2 or FIG. 8or both. It should be noted that in some embodiments, an LSA Repositorymay include some or all of the components shown in either FIG. 2 or FIG.8 or both. It should be noted that in some embodiments, an SASController may include some or all of the components shown in eitherFIG. 2 or FIG. 8 or both. It should be noted that in some embodiments,an SAS Repository may include some or all of the components shown ineither FIG. 2 or FIG. 8 or both.

Although the LSA Controller 800, LSA Repository 820, SAS Controller 850and the SAS Repository 870 are illustrated as having several separatefunctional elements, one or more of the functional elements may becombined and may be implemented by combinations of software-configuredelements, such as processing elements including digital signalprocessors (DSPs), and/or other hardware elements. For example, someelements may comprise one or more microprocessors, DSPs,field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) andcombinations of various hardware and logic circuitry for performing atleast the functions described herein. In some embodiments, thefunctional elements may refer to one or more processes operating on oneor more processing elements. Embodiments may be implemented in one or acombination of hardware, firmware and software. Embodiments may also beimplemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storagedevice, which may be read and executed by at least one processor toperform the operations described herein. A computer-readable storagedevice may include any non-transitory mechanism for storing informationin a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, acomputer-readable storage device may include read-only memory (ROM),random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storagemedia, flash-memory devices, and other storage devices and media. Someembodiments may include one or more processors and may be configuredwith instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device.

It should be noted that in some embodiments, an apparatus used by an LSAController may include various components of the LSA Controller 800 asshown in FIG. 8 and/or the machine 200 as shown in FIG. 2. In someembodiments, an apparatus used by an LSA Repository may include variouscomponents of the LSA Repository 800 as shown in FIG. 8 and/or themachine 200 as shown in FIG. 2. In some embodiments, an apparatus usedby an SAS Controller may include various components of the SASController 850 as shown in FIG. 8 and/or the machine 200 as shown inFIG. 2. In some embodiments, an apparatus used by an SAS Repository mayinclude various components of the SAS Repository 870 as shown in FIG. 8and/or the machine 200 as shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 9 illustrates examples of registration and de-registrationoperations in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 10 illustratesexamples of resource request, availability confirmation, andconnectivity check operations in accordance with some embodiments. Itshould be noted that the examples related to performance of operationsby the LC-OD 720 and the LC-NOD 710 shown in FIGS. 9-10 may illustrateconcepts and/or techniques described herein, but it is understood thatembodiments are not limited to these examples. In some embodiments,other suitable operations and/or functionalities may be performed in asimilar manner by the LC-OD 720 and the LC-NOD 710. In addition,embodiments are not limited to the operations shown in FIGS. 9-10, assome embodiments may not necessarily include all operations shown andsome embodiments may include additional operations. Embodiments are alsonot limited to the chronological ordering shown in FIGS. 9-10.

Referring to FIG. 9, in the examples of registration 900 andde-registration 950, the LC-OD 720 may be responsible for some or alloperator requests to register and/or de-register with the LR 535.Accordingly, some or all LC-OD requests for registration and/orde-registration with a node identity and/or LSA licensee identity may besent to the LC-NOD for processing. The requests may be sent asanonymous, public, non-confidential or similar requests, in some cases,which may depend on a level of confidentiality for the network. TheLC-NOD 710 may be responsible for establishing and maintainingcommunication with the LR 535, in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, an identity of an eNB 535, base station and/orother LSA licensee may be obfuscated by the LC-OD 720 before sending therequest for registration and/or de-registration to the LC-NOD 710.

Referring to FIG. 10, in the example of a resource request andavailability confirmation 1000, an operator may make a request forspectrum and may confirm necessary and/or requested changes once the LR535 notifies on spectrum resource availability. The LC-NOD 710 and LR535 may exchange information on LSA spectrum resource availability. TheLC-NOD 710 may perform spectrum data processing and may maintaincommunication with the LC-OD 720 on available spectrum, geographicalarea and timing instructions, in some cases. The LC-OD 720 may checkconsistency of provided information and may confirm spectrum changes tothe operator. In some embodiments, an identity of an eNB 535, basestation and/or other LSA licensee may be obfuscated by the LC-OD 720when communicating with the LC-NOD 710.

In the example of a connectivity check 1050 shown in FIG. 10, aconnectivity check may be maintained outside of the operator domain.That is, the LC-NOD 710 and the LR 535 may exchange information onconnectivity status. The LC-NOD 710 may process the connectivity checknotification and may take action upon a connectivity check responsestatus, in some cases. Such processing may be dependent onimplementation, in some cases. In some embodiments, an identity of aneNB 535, base station and/or other LSA licensee may be obfuscated by theLC-OD 720 when communicating with the LC-NOD 710.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a Third Generation Partnership Project(3GPP) network management architecture in accordance with someembodiments. As shown in FIG. 11, the network 1110 (which may be managedby an organization such as a carrier, service provider, company orother) may include various components for network management, such asone or more Network Management Layer Service (NMLS) 1120, NetworkManagers (NM) 1125, Domain Managers (DM) 1130, Network Elements (NE)1135 and/or others. The components may be communicatively coupled overvarious interfaces, including but not limited to those shown in FIG. 11.In some embodiments, components may be communicatively coupled tocomponents in a second network 1150 over various interfaces, includingbut not limited to those shown in FIG. 11. As an example, the secondnetwork 1150 may be managed by a different organization (such as adifferent carrier, service provider, company or other) than theorganization that manages the first network 1110.

In some embodiments, the Network Manager (NM) may provide a package ofend-user functions with the responsibility for the management of anetwork, mainly as supported by the EM(s) but it may also involve directaccess to the Network Elements (NE). Some or all communication with thenetwork may be based on open and well-standardized interfaces supportingmanagement of multi-vendor and multi-technology Network Elements, insome cases. The Domain Manager (DM) may provide element managementfunctions and domain management functions for a sub-network, in someembodiments. Inter-working domain managers may provide multi-vendor andmulti-technology network management functions. In some embodiments, anElement Manager (EM) may provide a package of end-user functions formanagement of a set of closely related types of network elements. Thesefunctions can be divided into two main categories: Element ManagementFunctions and Sub-Network Management Functions. A Network Element (NE)may correspond to a discrete telecommunications entity, which can bemanaged over a specific interface, such as the RNC or other suitableinterface.

In some embodiments, the LSA repository 535 and the LSA controller 540may be integrated into a 3GPP network, such as the example network 1100shown in FIG. 11, examples of which will be presented below. FIGS. 12-17illustrate other examples of 3GPP network architectures in accordancewith some embodiments. Although the example networks shown in FIGS.11-17 may illustrate some or all concepts and/or techniques describedherein, embodiments are not limited to the example networks shown inFIGS. 11-17 in terms of number, type and/or arrangement of components.In addition, embodiments are also not limited to 3GPP networks, asspectrum sharing network components, such as the LSA repository 535 andthe LSA controller 540 (and SAS repository and SAS controller) may beintegrated into other types of networks, in some cases.

Referring to the example arrangement of FIG. 12, the LSA Controller 540may be divided into an LC-OD and LC-NOD in accordance with a 3GPPnetwork. In the example shown in FIG. 12, in the presence of severaloperators, an LSA Controller 540 may be separated to include an“operator domain” controller (LC-OD) 1217 within the NMLS 1215 as partof the network 1210 of “Organization A.” The LC-OD 1217 may operate inaccordance with the “non-operator domain” controller LC-NOD 1205, whichmay be communicatively coupled to the LSA Repository 535. In addition,the LC-OD 1237 within the NMLS 1235 as part of the network 1230 of“Organization B” may operate in accordance with the LC-NOD 1205. In somecases, the interface 1220 (which may be an additional interface notnecessarily included in some 3GPP arrangements such as that shown inFIG. 11) may connect the LC-NOD 1205 and LC-OD 1217 (through to OA&M) insome cases. The interface may also connect the LC-NOD 1205 to the LC-OD1237 (through to OA&M) in some cases. Some or all operator criticalinformation may be managed within the LC-ODs 1217, 1237 while generic,public, non-critical and/or non-confidential information may beavailable in the LC-NOD 1205. As shown in FIG. 12, in some embodiments,the LC-OD 1237 in NMLS 1235 may connect to NM 1239 via the Type-7interface 1238. In addition, in some embodiments, the LC-OD 1217 in NMLS1215 may connect to NM 1219 via the Type-7 interface 1218. Accordingly,in these and other embodiments, a type-7 interface may connect an LCwith an NM.

Referring to the example arrangement of FIG. 13, an LSA Repository 535may be divided into an LR-OD and LR-NOD in accordance with a 3GPPnetwork. In the presence of several operators, an LSA Repository 535 maybe separated to include an “operator domain” repository (LR-OD) 1316within an NMLS 1315 of a network 1310 of “Organization A.” The LR-OD1316 may operate in accordance with a “non-operator domain” repository(LR-NOD) 1305. The NMLS 1315 may also include the LC 1317. In somecases, an interface 1320 (which may be an additional interface notnecessarily included in some 3GPP arrangements such as that shown inFIG. 11) may connect the LR-NOD 1305 and the LR-OD 1316/LC 1317 (throughto OA&M). Some or all operator critical information may be managedwithin the LR-OD 1316 while generic, public, non-critical and/ornon-confidential information may be available in the LR-NOD 1305. Inaddition, a similar arrangement may be used in the network 1330 of“Organization B.”

Referring to the example arrangement of FIG. 14, as part of the network1410 of “Organization A,” the NMLS 1415 may support and/or include an LRand LC-NOD (or SAS-R (SAS Repository) and SAS-C NOD (SAS ControllerNon-Operator-Domain), respectively, in the SAS case). In addition, oneor more NMs 1420 may support and/or include the LC-OD (SAS-C OD (SASController Operator-Domain) in the SAS case). In some embodiments, theLR and LC-NOD (SAS-R and SAS-C NOD in the SAS case) may interact withthe NMs of multiple distinct operators through the applicable interfaces(such as interface 7). As an example, the interface 7 may bestandardized in a manner in which an LR may control multiple LCs thatare located in an organization or in different organizations.

Referring to the example arrangement of FIG. 15, the LR 535 may besupported by and/or included in the NMLS 1515 of network 1510 of“Organization A” and the LC 540 may be supported by and/or included inone or more NMs 1520 of the network 1510. In some embodiments, some orall high level functions between LC 540 and LR 535 may remain unchanged.A functionality split between an LR-OD and LR-NOD may be implementationdependent, as it is may depend on a level of confidentiality ofinformation to be stored and processed through the LR. For example,internal MNO configuration parameters may be kept in an LR-OD as well assome or all data storage, protection requirements and managementfunctions. On the other hand, derivation of spectrum availability may bekept in an LR-NOD.

Referring to the example arrangement of FIG. 16, an LR 535 may be splitinto an LR-NOD 1605 and LR-OD 1616 (included in and/or supported by theNMLS 1615), in which the NMLS 1615 is included as part of the network1610 of “Organization A.” The LC 1625 may be included in and/orsupported by one or more NMs 1620. In some embodiments, the LC 1625 maybe communicatively coupled to the LR-OD 1616 via the “interface 7” 1627.

An example scenario, which may be related to FIGS. 15 and 16 in somecases, is described below. An LC may be allocated to the NM entity andcalled “NM SC,” an LR may be allocated to the NMLS entity and called“NMLS SP.” In the example scenario, an incumbent may be able to reclaimspectrum in a given area and for a given time period, according to thesharing agreement. The scenario may include operations performed by anincumbent (incumbent spectrum holder), an NMLS SP (Service Producer)such as an LSA Repository, an NM SC (Service Consumer) such as an LSAcontroller, and an access network (such as an LTE network. It may beassumed that the Sharing Agreement between the Incumbent and LSALicensee includes mechanisms enabling the Incumbent to reclaim spectrumat short notice under agreed conditions. An Incumbent may decide toreclaim spectrum in a given area and for a given time period. TheIncumbent may provide the NMLS SP a trigger to the LR detailing theconditions under which the spectrum is reclaimed (such as a concernedgeographic area, concerned duration of spectrum unavailability to LSAlicensee and/or other conditions).

The NMLS SP may forward the trigger to the NM SC. Based on thegeographic area provided by the LAMPS SP, the NM SC may identify theaccess networks which are using the spectrum to be reclaimed. The NM SCmay ask the access networks to discontinue using the concerned spectrumunder the conditions provided by the incumbent. After some or all accessnetworks stop using the spectrum, the NM SC may send an acknowledgementto the NMLS SP to indicate that the spectrum has been reclaimed. Afterexpiration of the duration of spectrum unavailability to LSA licensee,the LC(s) may identify concerned LSA licensees (NM entities) and mayprovide a trigger indicating that the spectrum is again available toconcerned LSA licensees. Alternatively, the Incumbent may provide atrigger to the concerned LC(s). The concerned LC(s) may identify theconcerned LSA licensees (NM entities) and may provide the correspondingtrigger indicating that the spectrum is again available for usage.Following an interruption of spectrum availability to LSA licensees, thespectrum may be available again for continued usage by LSA licensees.

It should be noted that the terms “NOD” (Non Operator Domain) and OD(Operator Domain) may be used herein, typically in conjunction with LR(LSA Repository), LC (LSA Controller), SAS-R (SAS Repository) and SAS-C(SAS Controller). Instead of “NOD” and “OD”, the following alternativewording may be used herein: “NLD” (Non Licensee Domain) instead of NOD,“LD” (Licensee Domain) instead of OD, “NLLD” (Non LSA Licensee Domain)instead of NOD, “LLD” (LSA Licensee Domain) instead of OD, “NSOD” (NonSpectrum Owner Domain) instead of NOD, “SOD” (Spectrum Owner Domain)instead of OD, “NPALD” (Non PAL (Priority Access License) Domain)instead of NOD, “PALD” (PAL (Priority Access License) Domain) instead ofOD, “NCBSDD” (Non CBSD Domain) instead of NOD, “CBSDD” (CBSD Domain)instead of OD, “NCD” (Non CBSD Domain) instead of NOD, “CD” (CBSDDomain) instead of OD. Furthermore, other terms may be generalized andallocated to 3GPP SA5 components. The “LC” may be allocated to the NMentity and called “NM SC”, the “LR” may be allocated to the NMLS entityand called “NMLS SP”. Optionally, the LC may be split into LC-OD/NOD andallocated to the NMLS (LC-NOD) and NM (LC-OD). Yet another alternativeis to split the LR into LR-OD/NOD and allocate it to the NMLS (LR-NOD)and NM (LR-OD). Then, the NM SC may comprise all LSA/SAS elementsallocated to the NM and the NMLS SP may comprise all LSA/SAS elementsallocated to the NMLS.

It should be noted that embodiments are not limited to LSA techniques,as SAS techniques may be used in some cases. As an example, an SASRepository may be split into a SAS-R-NOD and SAS-R-OD in a similararrangement. Referring to FIG. 17, an example of splitting functionalityof SAS components between an operator domain and a non-operator domainis shown. In the SAS case, a SAS entity (such as 570 or 572 of FIG. 5)may comprise an SAS-C(SAS Controller) and optionally an SAS-R (SASRepository). As an alternative, the repository may be fully contained inthe FCC Database 575 of FIG. 5 in some embodiments. Also, it is possiblethat the SAS-R may be split between the FCC Database 575 and the SASentities 570, 572 (similar to the “OD” and “NOD” domain). In the lattercase, it is also possible that the SAS-R may be split into 3 parts: theSAS-R-FCC or SAS-R-ESC (SAS Repository FCC or ESC Domain) which iscontrolled by the FCC or ESC 580 (or a certified 3^(rd) party), theSAS-R-SAS (SAS Repository within a SAS component) and SAS-R-OD (SASRepository within the LSA Licensee (Operator) Domain). Furthermore, itis possible that the SAS components may be split into a SAS-OD (SASOperator Domain) and SAS-NOD. In some embodiments, the internalseparation between SAS-OD and SAS-NOD may be on the Controller Level. Asan example, the SAS-R may be in the NOD domain, the SAS-C-NOD may be inthe NOD domain and the SAS-C-OD may be in the OD domain with aninterface between the SAS-C-NOD and the SAS-C-OD). In some embodiments,the internal separation may be on the Repository Level. As an example,the SAS-C may be in the OD domain, the SAS-R-NOD may be in the NODdomain and the SAS-R-OD may be in the OD domain with an interfacebetween the SAS-R-NOD and the SAS-R-OD). In some embodiments, the ODpart may be placed into the “Proxy/Network Manager” component for all orsome LSA Licensees (Operators) or into the concerned CBSDs' of theconcerned LSA Licensee directly. Furthermore, it is also possible thatthe SAS-R may be split into 4 parts: the SAS-R-FCC (SAS Repository FCCDomain) which is controlled by the FCC (or a certified 3rd party), theSAS-R-ESC (controlled by the ESC), the SAS-R-SAS (SAS Repository withina SAS component) and SAS-R-OD (SAS Repository within the LSA Licensee(Operator) Domain).

FIG. 18 illustrates the operation of a method of communication usingshared spectrum in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 19 illustratesthe operation of another method of communication using shared spectrumin accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 20 illustrates the operationof another method of communication using shared spectrum in accordancewith some embodiments. It is important to note that embodiments of themethods 1800-2000 may include additional or even fewer operations orprocesses in comparison to what is illustrated in FIGS. 18-20. Inaddition, embodiments of the methods 1800-2000 are not necessarilylimited to the chronological order that is shown in FIGS. 18-20. Indescribing the methods 1800-2000, reference may be made to one or moreof FIGS. 1-20, although it is understood that the methods 1800-2000 maybe practiced with any other suitable systems, interfaces and components.

In addition, while the methods 1800-2000 and other methods describedherein may refer to eNBs 104 or UEs 102 operating in accordance with3GPP or other standards, embodiments of those methods are not limited tojust those eNBs 104 or UEs 102 and may also use other devices, such as aCSBD, Wi-Fi access point (AP) or user station (STA). In addition, themethods 1800-2000 and other methods described herein may be practiced bywireless devices configured to operate in other suitable types ofwireless communication systems, including systems configured to operateaccording to various IEEE standards such as IEEE 802.11. In someembodiments, a CBSD may be included as a base station component. Itshould be noted that the CBSD may be an eNB 104 and/or may be configuredto operate as an eNB 104 in some cases.

It should be noted that although operations and/or techniques may bedescribed in terms of LSA components (such as an LSA Controller and/orLSA Repository) or SAS components (such as an SAS Controller and/or SASRepository), it is understood that embodiments are not limited to LSAspectrum sharing techniques or to SAS spectrum sharing techniques, andsome embodiments may be applicable to other spectrum sharing techniques.

It should be noted that although operations and/or techniques may bedescribed in terms of an eNB 300 (from FIG. 3), it is understood thatembodiments may include any suitable network, including but not limitedto those shown in FIGS. 1-17 and those described herein. Embodiments arealso not limited to the eNB 300, as other base station components may beused, in some cases.

In some cases, operations described as part of one of the methods1800-2000 may be relevant to, similar to and/or reciprocal to operationsof another of the methods 1800-2000. For instance, an operation of themethod 1800 may include transmission of a message by a first componentto a second component, and an operation of the method 1900 may includereception of the same message or similar message by the second componentfrom the first component.

It should be noted that the method 1800 may be practiced by a mobilenetwork shared spectrum controller and/or by an apparatus for such adevice, in some embodiments. The method 1900 may be practiced by amobile network shared spectrum repository and/or by an apparatus forsuch a device, in some embodiments. The method 2000 may be practiced byan eNB, a base station and/or an apparatus for an eNB and/or basestation, in some embodiments. However, these embodiments are notlimiting, as the methods 1800-2000 may be practiced by other components,in some embodiments.

In addition, some embodiments may include one or more operations of anyor all of methods 1800-2000 and some embodiments may include additionaloperations. As an example, operations related to descriptions herein ofFIGS. 9-17 may be included in some embodiments. Accordingly, in someembodiments, a shared spectrum controller, a shared spectrum repository,one or more portions of a shared spectrum controller and/or one or moreportions of a shared spectrum repository may be included as part of amobile network (such as a 3GPP network or other network) in arrangementsincluding, but not limited to, those shown in FIGS. 9-17.

Some components may be included in, may be internal to and/or mayoperate as part of a mobile network domain, in some embodiments. As anexample, components such as a mobile network shared spectrum controller,a mobile network shared spectrum repository and/or others may operate aspart of a mobile network domain. As another example, components such asa public shared spectrum controller, a public shared spectrum repositoryand/or others may operate outside of a mobile network domain. In someembodiments, the public shared spectrum controller may be operated by athird party, such as a government entity or other entity.

In some embodiments, a managing entity of the mobile network domain maycontrol (at least to some extent) operations performed by components ofthe mobile network domain (such as the mobile network shared spectrumcontroller in the method 1800) and/or may control access to informationby those components. Such control of operations and/or information bythe managing entity may be restricted or non-existent for componentsoutside of the mobile network domain (such as the public shared spectrumcontroller and/or shared spectrum repository in the method 1800), insome cases. Embodiments are not limited to usage of such a managingentity for controlling the operations and/or information access bycomponents included in the mobile network domain, however. For instance,such operations and/or information access may be related to a standardand/or an implementation, in some cases.

As a non-limiting example, a “mobile network shared spectrum controller”may be, may include and/or may be included as part of an LC-OD (operatordomain LSA controller). In some embodiments, the mobile network sharedspectrum controller may operate as part of a Network Management LayerService (NMLS) of a 3GPP network. As another non-limiting example, a“public shared spectrum controller” may be, may include and/or may beincluded as part of an LC-NOD (non-operator domain LSA controller). Insome embodiments, the mobile network shared spectrum controller may beconfigured to operate with the public shared spectrum controller as partof an LSA controller that manages the secondary usage of the sharedspectrum. Embodiments are not limited to LSA techniques, however, as themobile network shared spectrum controller may be configured to operatewith the public shared spectrum controller as part of a SAS controllerthat manages the secondary usage of the shared spectrum, in someembodiments.

As another non-limiting example, a “mobile network shared spectrumrepository” may be, may include and/or may be included as part of anLR-OD (operator domain LSA repository). As another non-limiting example,a “public shared spectrum repository” may be, may include and/or may beincluded as part of an LR-NOD (non-operator domain LSA repository). Insome embodiments, the mobile network shared spectrum repository may beconfigured to operate with the public shared spectrum repository as partof an LSA repository. In some embodiments, the mobile network sharedspectrum repository may operate as part of a Network Management LayerService (NMLS) of a 3GPP network. Embodiments are not limited to LSAtechniques, however, as the mobile network shared spectrum repositorymay be configured to operate with the public shared spectrum repositoryas part of an SAS repository, in some embodiments.

These examples are not limiting, however, as other shared spectrumcontrollers and/or shared spectrum repositories (such as those relatedto SAS) may be used in some embodiments.

In some embodiments of the methods 1800, 1900, 2000 and/or others, amacro cell eNB, femto cell eNB, pico cell eNB or small cell eNB may beused. As an example, the method 2000 may be practiced by a macro celleNB, femto cell eNB, pico cell eNB or small cell eNB in someembodiments. Embodiments may also be applicable to an eNB 300 that maybe arranged to operate as a macro cell eNB, femto cell eNB, pico celleNB or small cell eNB.

In some embodiments, techniques described herein may be applicable to astand-alone version of spectrum sharing (LSA, SAS and/or other). In sucharrangements, a base station may not necessarily be under the control ofan operator but may be operated independently by a user. For instance, abase station that may be or may be similar to a WiFi Access Point may beused in such a stand-alone arrangement.

It should be noted that in some embodiments, LSA or other spectrumsharing techniques may be used, and an operator may maintain a networkbased on dedicated licensed spectrum in parallel to the usage of theshared spectrum. However, in some embodiments, a home user may be ableto deploy its own LSA/SAS network as a stand-alone solution, and some orall techniques described herein may be applicable in some cases. Forinstance, such arrangements may be implemented in a 3.5 GHz band (and/orother suitable frequency band) in accordance with a standard such asthat developed by the MuLTEfire alliance or other alliance.

At operation 1805 of the method 1800, the mobile network shared spectrumcontroller may receive, from an eNB 300 of the mobile network domain, arequest to register with a shared spectrum repository for secondaryusage of shared spectrum. In some embodiments, the shared spectrum maybe reserved for primary usage by one or more incumbent devices. As anexample, a shard spectrum repository may manage, approve, facilitateand/or coordinate the secondary usage and the primary usage, in somecases.

At operation 1810, the mobile network shared spectrum controller maysend a registration message to a public shared spectrum controller. Insome embodiments, the public shared spectrum controller may be externalto the mobile network domain. As an example, the registration messagemay be sent to the public shared spectrum controller for forwarding tothe shared spectrum repository.

As an example, the registration message may indicate that the eNB 300has requested to register with the shared spectrum repository and/orother related information. Embodiments are not limited to forwarding ofthe exact contents of the request received from the eNB 300 at operation1805. For instance, the registration message may be based at leastpartly on an identity of the eNB 300 that is obfuscated to enable aconfidentiality of mobile network configuration information within themobile network domain, in some cases. The registration message and/orother messages may include information (such as information about theeNB 300 and/or the network) that may be sent as anonymous, public,non-confidential or similar requests, in some cases, which may depend ona level of confidentiality for the network

At operation 1815, the mobile network shared spectrum controller mayreceive, from the public shared spectrum controller, a registrationconfirmation message for the request of operation 1810. In someembodiments, the registration confirmation message may be received fromthe public shared spectrum controller on behalf of the shared spectrumrepository. The registration confirmation message may be based at leastpartly on the obfuscated identity of the eNB 300, in some cases.

At operation 1820, the mobile network shared spectrum controller maysend, to the public shared spectrum controller, a spectrum usage messagethat indicates the secondary usage of the shared spectrum by the eNB300. In some embodiments, the spectrum usage message may be sent to thepublic shared spectrum controller for forwarding to the shared spectrumrepository. In some cases, the spectrum usage message may be based atleast partly on the obfuscated identity of the eNB 300.

At operation 1825, the mobile network shared spectrum controller maydetermine mobile network configuration information. As an example, suchinformation may be based on secondary usage of the shared spectrum by agroup of one or more eNBs 300 of the mobile network domain. Forinstance, deployment of the eNBs 300, usage by mobile devices, signalquality measurements, network performance statistics and/or otherinformation may be determined. In some cases, such information may bereceived at the mobile network shared spectrum controller from anothercomponent (such as an eNB 300 or other).

At operation 1830, at least a portion of the mobile networkconfiguration information may be obfuscated by the mobile network sharedspectrum controller. For instance, an identity of the eNB 300 may beobfuscated to components outside of the mobile network domain. Suchobfuscation may enable maintenance of confidential information (such asnetwork configuration information) within the mobile network domain. Insome embodiments, the mobile network shared spectrum controller maysend, to the public shared spectrum controller and/or other component,network configuration information that may be anonymous, public,non-confidential, obfuscated and/or similar.

At operation 1835, the mobile network shared spectrum controller maysend, to the public shared spectrum controller, a public portion of thenetwork configuration information. In some embodiments, the publicportion may be sent to the public shared spectrum controller forforwarding to the shared spectrum repository. At operation 1840, themobile network shared spectrum controller may restrict sending, to thepublic shared spectrum controller, of a confidential portion of thenetwork configuration information. Accordingly, the restriction of thesending of the confidential portion may enable maintenance ofconfidential information (such as network configuration information)within the mobile network domain. As an example, the confidentialportion may include signal quality measurements at one or more of theeNBs 300 and the public portion may include a combined signal qualitymeasurement (such as an average), which may obfuscate individualmeasurements.

At operation 1845, the mobile network shared spectrum controller mayreceive, from the public shared spectrum controller, a spectrumunavailability message. In some embodiments, the spectrum unavailabilitymessage may indicate an unavailability of the shared spectrum for thesecondary usage and/or other related information. The spectrumunavailability message may be received from the public shared spectrumcontroller on behalf of the shared spectrum repository, in some cases.As an example, the spectrum unavailability message may be based on theobfuscated identity of the eNB 300, in some cases.

At operation 1850, the mobile network shared spectrum controller maysend, to the eNB 300, a spectrum vacate message that indicates that theeNB is to refrain from the secondary usage. In some embodiments, theexchanging of the spectrum unavailability message and the spectrumvacate message (and/or similar messages) may be part of a reclaiming ofthe shared spectrum by an incumbent device.

As an example, the availability of the shared spectrum for the secondaryusage may be restricted to inactivity periods of one or more incumbentdevices. As another example, an availability of the shared spectrum forthe secondary usage may be based at least partly on an inactivitycondition of the incumbent devices. As another example, anunavailability of the shared spectrum for the secondary usage may bebased at least partly on an activity condition of the incumbent devices.As another example, the availability may be based at least partly on oneor more scheduled periods of inactivity for the incumbent devices in theshared spectrum. As another example, the inactivity condition may berelated to a predetermined threshold of activity and/or interference.For instance, the inactivity condition may occur when a level ofinterference to an incumbent is below the threshold. As another example,the inactivity condition may be limited to a geographic area. Forinstance, the geographic area may include a zone, such as an Exclusion,Restriction, Protection zone or other zone.

Referring to the method 1900 shown in FIG. 19, at operation 1905, themobile network shared spectrum repository may receive, from a sharedspectrum controller, a secondary usage message that indicates secondaryusage of shared spectrum by an eNB 300. In some embodiments, the mobilenetwork shared spectrum repository may operate as part of a NetworkManagement Layer Service (NMLS) of a 3GPP network. As a non-limitingexample, messages (such as the secondary usage message and/or others)may be exchanged with the mobile network shared spectrum controller overa Type-7 interface of the 3GPP network. This example is not limiting,however, as other interfaces may be used in some cases.

At operation 1910, the mobile network shared spectrum repository maysend, to a public shared spectrum repository, a secondary usageverification message that indicates the secondary usage of the sharedspectrum by the eNB 300. In some embodiments, an identity of the eNB 300may be obfuscated in the secondary usage verification message. Asdescribed earlier, such an obfuscation may enable maintenance ofconfidential information within the mobile network domain, in somecases. At operation 1915, the mobile network shared spectrum repositorymay receive, from the public shared spectrum repository, an indicator ofwhether the secondary usage is in compliance with a shared spectrumpolicy.

At operation 1920, the mobile network shared spectrum repository mayreceive, from the shared spectrum controller, mobile networkconfiguration information for the mobile network that is based at leastpartly on operation of the eNB 300 in the mobile network. Although notlimited as such, the mobile network configuration information maysimilar to that described regarding the method 1800. In someembodiments, the mobile network shared spectrum repository may send, tothe public shared spectrum repository and/or other component, networkconfiguration information that may be anonymous, public,non-confidential, obfuscated and/or similar.

At operation 1925, the mobile network shared spectrum repository maysend, to the public shared spectrum repository, a public portion of themobile network configuration information. At operation 1930, the mobilenetwork shared spectrum repository may restrict sending of aconfidential portion of the network configuration information to thepublic shared spectrum repository. As described earlier, such arestriction may enable maintenance of confidential information withinthe mobile network domain, in some cases.

At operation 1935, the mobile network shared spectrum repository mayreceive, from the public shared spectrum repository, a spectrumunavailability message that may indicate an unavailability of the sharedspectrum for the secondary usage. At operation 1940, the mobile networkshared spectrum repository may send, to the shared spectrum controller,an indicator of the unavailability of the shared spectrum. Although notlimited as such, operations 1935 and/or 1940 may be related to areclaiming of the shared spectrum by an incumbent device, in some cases,as previously described. The unavailability of the shared spectrum maybe based on any number of factors, including but not limited to thosedescribed regarding the method 1800.

Referring to the method 2000 shown in FIG. 20, at operation 2005, theeNB 300 may send, to a mobile network shared spectrum controller, arequest to register with a shared spectrum repository for secondaryusage of shared spectrum. As a non-limiting example, the mobile networkshared spectrum controller may operate as part of the mobile networkdomain and the shared spectrum repository may operate externally to themobile network domain. In some embodiments, the shared spectrum may beat least partly reserved, by the shared spectrum repository, for primaryusage by one or more incumbent devices.

At operation 2010, the eNB 300 may receive, from the mobile networkshared spectrum controller, a registration confirmation message thatindicates whether at least a portion of the shared spectrum is availablefor the secondary usage by the eNB 300. In some embodiments, theregistration confirmation message may be received from the mobilenetwork shared spectrum controller on behalf of a public shared spectrumcontroller that is excluded from the mobile network domain. The eNB 300may allocate at least a portion of the shared spectrum to one or moreUser Equipments (UEs), and may send one or more messages to the UEs toindicate the allocation.

At operation 2015, the eNB 300 may exchange one or more data signalswith a UE in the shared spectrum. In some embodiments, the exchanging ofthe data signals may be performed in accordance with a spectrum sharingpolicy managed by the shared spectrum repository.

At operation 2020, the eNB 300 may receive, from the mobile networkshared spectrum controller, a request to determine a signal qualitymeasurement. In some embodiments, the request may be received from themobile network shared spectrum controller on behalf of the public sharedspectrum controller. Such a request may be performed as part of ensuringthat the eNB 300 is operating in compliance with one or more rules,policies, limits and/or other factors.

At operation 2025, the eNB 300 may determine a signal qualitymeasurement. As an example, the measurement may be based on a signalreceived at the eNB from the UE in the shared spectrum. As anotherexample, the measurement may be based on a signal transmitted by the eNBin the shared spectrum. At operation 2030, the eNB 300 may send thesignal quality measurement to the mobile network shared spectrumcontroller.

In some embodiments, the eNB 300 may be configured to operate in a 3GPPnetwork, and may receive, from a network management (NM) element of the3GPP network and on behalf of the public shared spectrum controller,spectrum access information and/or spectrum reclaiming information. Thespectrum access information may indicate information related to theshared spectrum, including but not limited to a time period and/or ageographic area in which the shared spectrum is to be used in the 3GPPnetwork. The spectrum reclaiming information may indicate informationrelated to the shared spectrum, including but not limited to a timeperiod and/or a geographic area in which the shared spectrum is not tobe used in the 3GPP network. Accordingly, based at least partly on thespectrum access information and/or spectrum reclaiming information, theeNB 300 may perform operations such as allocating at least a portion ofthe shared spectrum to one or more UEs 102, indicating to one or moreUEs 102 to vacate at least a portion of the shared spectrum and/or otheroperations.

In some embodiments, a Network Management (NM) of the 3GPP network mayreceive spectrum access and/or spectrum reclaiming information from thepublic shared spectrum controller, and may configure the eNB 300,accordingly, to use the shared spectrum or to refrain from using theshared spectrum. In some embodiments, the eNB 300 may be part of aNetwork Element (NE) of the 3GPP network, and the configuration of theNE to use or to refrain from using the shared spectrum may be performedat least partly by an Element Manager (EM) of the 3GPP network.

In some embodiments, the eNB 300 may send a trigger and/or message to aUE 102 that may indicate one or more actions that are to be taken by theUE 102, including but not limited to entering, using and/or vacating theshared spectrum. Accordingly, the UE 102 may act upon the trigger and/ormessage and may perform the indicated action(s). In some cases, it maybe mandatory that the UEs 102 perform the action(s) indicated by thetrigger and/or message from the eNB 300.

In some embodiments, the LSA/SAS Controller (LC) may be split intooperator and non-operator components, LC-OD and LC-NOD respectively. TheLC may interact with the LR in order to obtain updated information uponwhich actions are performed, typically leading to a reconfiguration ofthe Operator's network. In the classical case, there may be noseparation between LC-OD and LC-NOD, so all the processing may be donein a single entity. The concerned LSA licensees (or operators) may beinformed about the actions to be implemented (such as to vacate spectrumand/or other action). In some cases, operators may not agree to providesensitive internal information to an outside entity which is not underthe operator's control. In some embodiments described herein, the LC-NODmay receive the information from the LR and may do a pre-processingoperation, such as filtering the information targeted to a specific LSALicensee (or Operator), adapting the information to the interfacerequirements of the LSA licensee (Operator) and/or other operation. Thepre-processed information may be forwarded to the LC-OD and theprocessing may be finalized there, typically exploiting LSA Licenseeinternal information which was not accessible outside of the LSALicensee's network. Eventual error messages or update requests may needto be provided from the LC-OD back to the LC-NOD in order to possiblyre-do the pre-processing operation.

In some embodiments, the LC-OD may be integrated into 3GPP LTE SA5architecture into an NMLS component. In some embodiments, the LC-NOD maybe left outside of an operator network and may interact with LSA/SASRepository, LR and LC-OD. Alternatively, the LC may be left unchanged inthe operator domain while the LSA/SAS LR may be split to include anLR-OD (operator component) and LR-NOD (non-operator component. In someembodiments, the LC may interact with the LR in order to obtain updatedinformation upon which actions may be performed, typically leading to areconfiguration of the Operator's network. In some cases, there may beno separation between LR-OD and LR-NOD, and some or all LSA relatedinformation (at least information provided by the Incumbent) may bebuffered in a single location, such as the LR. In some cases, operatorsmay not agree to have sensitive internal information stored in anoutside entity which is not under the operator's control. In someembodiments described herein, the LR-NOD may store information that isnot of sensitive value for the LSA Licensee (and may be restricted frominformation that is of sensitive value for the LSA Licensee in somecases). LSA Licensee sensitive information may need to be stored in theLR-OD. That is, when the Incumbent provides information to the LR, theLR-NOD may perform a pre-processing operation and may consider whetherthe information is sensitive to concerned LSA Licensee(s). When theinformation is considered NOT to be sensitive, it may be buffered in theLR-NOD. If it is identified to be sensitive, it may be forwarded to theLR-OD of the concerned LSA Licensee (Operator). Also, the LC mayinteract directly with the LR-OD. If the LC needs to access informationstored in the LR-OD, the information may be directly provided since itmay be present in the LR-OD. If the information is contained in theLR-NOD, the LR-OD may need to first request the information from theLR-NOD, then the LR-NOD may deliver the information to the LR-OD andthen it can be provided to the LC. Alternatively, it is possible thatthe LR-NOD may be mirrored in the LR-OD such that the information may bedirectly accessible by the LC. Also, as another alternative, it ispossible that the LC may interact directly with both the LR-OD andLR-NOD in order to have more direct access. In some embodiments, anLSA/SAS operator component (LC-OD and LR-OD) may be in communicationwith SA network elements (NE) through existing SA5 interfaces.

In Example 1, an apparatus of a base station configured to operate in adomain of a mobile network may comprise interface circuitry. Theapparatus may further comprise hardware processing circuitry. Thehardware processing circuitry may configure the interface circuitry tosend, to a mobile network shared spectrum controller of the mobilenetwork domain, a request to register with a shared spectrum repositoryfor secondary usage of shared spectrum. The hardware processingcircuitry may further configure the interface circuitry to receive, fromthe mobile network shared spectrum controller, a registrationconfirmation message that indicates whether at least a portion of theshared spectrum is available for the secondary usage by the basestation. The shared spectrum repository may operate externally to themobile network domain. The shared spectrum may be at least partlyreserved, by the shared spectrum repository, for primary usage by one ormore incumbent devices.

In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1, wherein the registrationconfirmation message may be received from the mobile network sharedspectrum controller on behalf of a public shared spectrum controllerthat is excluded from the mobile network domain.

In Example 3, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-2, wherein the apparatus may further include transceiver circuitry.The hardware processing circuitry may configure the transceivercircuitry to transmit, to a User Equipment (UE), a spectrum allocationmessage that allocates at least a portion of the shared spectrum forusage by the UE. The hardware processing circuitry may further configurethe transceiver circuitry to transmit a data signal to the UE in theshared spectrum. The data signal may be transmitted in accordance with aspectrum sharing policy managed by the shared spectrum repository.

In Example 4, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-3, wherein the hardware processing circuitry may further configure theinterface circuitry to receive, from the mobile network shared spectrumcontroller on behalf of the public shared spectrum controller, a requestto determine a signal quality measurement. The hardware processingcircuitry may be further configured to determine a signal qualitymeasurement based on a signal received at the base station from a UserEquipment (UE). The signal may be received in the shared spectrum. Thehardware processing circuitry may further configure the interfacecircuitry to send the signal quality measurement to the mobile networkshared spectrum controller. The hardware processing circuitry mayinclude baseband circuitry to determine the signal quality measurement.

In Example 5, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-4, wherein the base station may be configured to operate as an EvolvedNode-B (eNB) in accordance with a Third Generation Partnership Project(3GPP) protocol. The shared spectrum may include at least a licensedportion and an unlicensed portion that are combined in accordance with a3GPP License Assisted Access (LAA) protocol.

In Example 6, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-5, wherein the base station may be configured to operate in accordancewith a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) protocol as anEvolved Node-B (eNB), macro cell eNB, femto cell eNB or small cell eNB.

In Example 7, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples1-6, wherein the base station may be configured to operate as an EvolvedNode-B (eNB) as part of a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)network. The hardware processing circuitry may be further configured toreceive, from a network management (NM) element of the 3GPP network andon behalf of the public shared spectrum controller, spectrum accessinformation and/or spectrum reclaiming information. The spectrum accessinformation may indicate a time period and/or a geographic area in whichthe shared spectrum is to be used in the 3GPP network. The spectrumreclaiming information may indicate a time period and/or a geographicarea in which the shared spectrum is not to be used in the 3GPP network.

In Example 8, an apparatus of a mobile network shared spectrumcontroller may be configured to operate in a domain of a mobile network.The apparatus may comprise interface circuitry. The apparatus mayfurther comprise hardware processing circuitry. The hardware processingcircuitry may configure the interface circuitry to receive, from anEvolved Node-B (eNB) of the mobile network domain, a request to registerwith a shared spectrum repository for secondary usage of sharedspectrum. The hardware processing circuitry may further configure theinterface circuitry to send, to a public shared spectrum controllerexternal to the mobile network domain, a registration message thatindicates that the eNB has requested to register with the sharedspectrum repository. The registration message may be based at leastpartly on an identity of the eNB that is obfuscated to enable aconfidentiality of mobile network configuration information within themobile network domain.

In Example 9, the subject matter of Example 8, wherein the mobilenetwork shared spectrum controller may be configured to operate with thepublic shared spectrum controller as part of a Licensed Shared Access(LSA) controller that manages the secondary usage of the sharedspectrum. The shared spectrum repository may include an LSA repository.

In Example 10, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples8-9, wherein the mobile network shared spectrum controller may beconfigured to operate with the public shared spectrum controller as partof a Spectrum Access System (SAS) controller that manages the secondaryusage of the shared spectrum.

In Example 11, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples8-10, wherein the hardware processing circuitry may be configured todetermine the mobile network configuration information based at leastpartly on operation of the eNB in the mobile network. The hardwareprocessing circuitry may further configure the interface circuitry tosend, to the public shared spectrum controller, a public portion of thenetwork configuration information. The hardware processing circuitry maybe configured to restrict sending of a confidential portion of thenetwork configuration information to the public shared spectrumcontroller.

In Example 12, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples8-11, wherein the restriction of the sending of the confidential portionof the network configuration information may be to enable an obfuscationof the confidential portion from the public shared spectrum controller.

In Example 13, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples8-12, wherein the restriction of the sending of the confidential portionof the network configuration information may be to enable an obfuscationof the confidential portion from components operating outside of themobile network domain.

In Example 14, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples8-13, wherein the hardware processing circuitry may include basebandcircuitry to determine the network configuration information.

In Example 15, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples8-14, wherein the hardware processing circuitry may further configurethe interface circuitry to receive, from the public shared spectrumcontroller on behalf of the shared spectrum repository, a registrationconfirmation message for the request by the eNB to register with theshared spectrum repository. The registration confirmation message may bebased at least partly on the obfuscated identity of the eNB.

In Example 16, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples8-15, wherein the hardware processing circuitry may further configurethe interface circuitry to receive, from the public shared spectrumcontroller on behalf of the shared spectrum repository, a spectrumunavailability message that indicates an unavailability of the sharedspectrum for the secondary usage. The hardware processing circuitry mayfurther configure the interface circuitry to send, to the eNB, aspectrum vacate message that indicates that the eNB is to refrain fromthe secondary usage. The shared spectrum may be reserved, by the sharedspectrum repository, for primary usage by one or more incumbent devices.

In Example 17, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples8-16, wherein the hardware processing circuitry may further configurethe interface circuitry to send, to the public shared spectrumcontroller for forwarding to the shared spectrum repository, a spectrumusage message that indicates the secondary usage of the shared spectrumby the eNB. The spectrum usage message and the spectrum vacate messagemay be based at least partly on the obfuscated identity of the eNB.

In Example 18, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples8-17, wherein the unavailability of the shared spectrum may be based ona reclaiming, by the one or more incumbent devices, of the sharedspectrum for the primary usage.

In Example 19, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples8-18, wherein the mobile network may include a Third GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) network. The mobile network shared spectrumcontroller may operate as part of a Network Management Layer Service(NMLS) of the 3GPP network.

In Example 20, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples8-19, wherein the hardware processing circuitry may further configurethe interface circuitry to receive, from the public shared spectrumcontroller, spectrum access information that indicates a time periodand/or a geographic area in which the shared spectrum is to be used inthe mobile network. The hardware processing circuitry may furtherconfigure the interface circuitry to send the spectrum accessinformation over a type-7 interface to a network management (NM) elementof the 3GPP network for forwarding to the eNB.

In Example 21, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples8-20, wherein the hardware processing circuitry may further configurethe interface circuitry to receive, from the public shared spectrumcontroller, spectrum reclaiming information that indicates a time periodand/or a geographic area in which the shared spectrum is not to be usedin the mobile network. The hardware processing circuitry may furtherconfigure the interface circuitry to send the spectrum reclaiminginformation over a type-7 interface to a network management (NM) elementof the 3GPP network for forwarding to the eNB.

In Example 22, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium maystore instructions for execution by one or more processors to performoperations for management of shared spectrum by a mobile network sharedspectrum controller of a domain of a mobile network. The operations mayconfigure the one or more processors to determine mobile networkconfiguration information based on secondary usage of shared spectrum bya group of one or more Evolved Node-Bs (eNBs) of the mobile networkdomain. The operations may further configure the one or more processorsto configure the mobile network shared spectrum controller to send, to apublic shared spectrum controller, a public portion of the mobilenetwork configuration information. The operations may configure the oneor more processors to configure the mobile network shared spectrumcontroller to refrain from sending of a confidential portion of themobile network configuration information to the public shared spectrumcontroller.

In Example 23, the subject matter of Example 22, wherein theconfidential portion of the mobile network configuration information mayinclude signal quality measurements at one or more of the eNBs. Thepublic portion of the mobile network configuration information mayinclude a combined signal quality measurement based on the signalquality measurements at the eNBs.

In Example 24, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples22-23, wherein the public portion of the mobile network configurationinformation may be sent to the public shared spectrum controller forforwarding to a shared spectrum repository that reserves the sharedspectrum for primary usage by one or more incumbent devices.

In Example 25, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples22-24, wherein the mobile network shared spectrum controller may beconfigured to operate with the public shared spectrum controller as partof a Licensed Shared Access (LSA) controller. The shared spectrumrepository may include an LSA repository.

In Example 26, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples22-25, wherein the operations may further configure the one or moreprocessors to configure the network internal shared spectrum controllerto send, to the public shared spectrum controller for forwarding to theshared spectrum repository, a spectrum usage message that indicates thesecondary usage of the shared spectrum by the group of eNBs. Thespectrum usage message may be based at least partly on obfuscatedidentities of the group of eNBs.

In Example 27, an apparatus of a mobile network shared spectrumrepository may be configured to operate in a domain of a mobile network.The apparatus may comprise interface circuitry. The apparatus mayfurther comprise hardware processing circuitry. The hardware processingcircuitry may configure the interface circuitry to receive, from amobile network shared spectrum controller of the mobile network domain,a secondary usage message that indicates a secondary usage of sharedspectrum by an Evolved Node-B (eNB) of the mobile network domain. Thehardware processing circuitry may further configure the interfacecircuitry to send, to a public shared spectrum repository excluded fromthe mobile network domain, a secondary usage verification message thatindicates the secondary usage of the shared spectrum and obfuscates anidentity of the eNB. The hardware processing circuitry may furtherconfigure the interface circuitry to receive, from the public sharedspectrum repository, an indicator of whether the secondary usage is incompliance with a shared spectrum policy.

In Example 28, the subject matter of Example 27, wherein the mobilenetwork shared spectrum repository may be configured to operate with thepublic shared spectrum repository as part of a Licensed Shared Access(LSA) repository. The shared spectrum may be reserved, by the LSArepository, for primary usage by one or more incumbent devices.

In Example 29, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples27-28, wherein the identity of the eNB may be obfuscated in thesecondary usage verification message to enable a confidentiality ofmobile network configuration information within the mobile networkdomain.

In Example 30, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples27-29, wherein the hardware processing circuitry may further configurethe interface circuitry to receive, from the shared spectrum controller,mobile network configuration information for the mobile network that isbased at least partly on operation of the eNB in the mobile network. Thehardware processing circuitry may further configure the interfacecircuitry to send, to the public shared spectrum repository, a publicportion of the mobile network configuration information. The hardwareprocessing circuitry may be configured to restrict sending of aconfidential portion of the mobile network configuration information tothe public shared spectrum repository.

In Example 31, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples27-30, wherein the restriction of the sending of the confidentialportion of the mobile network configuration information may be to enablean obfuscation of the confidential portion from the public sharedspectrum repository.

In Example 32, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples27-31, wherein the hardware processing circuitry may further configurethe interface circuitry to receive, from the public shared spectrumrepository, a spectrum unavailability message that indicates anunavailability of the shared spectrum for the secondary usage. Thehardware processing circuitry may further configure the interfacecircuitry to send, to the mobile network shared spectrum controller, anindicator of the unavailability of the shared spectrum. The sharedspectrum may be reserved for primary usage by one or more incumbentdevices. The unavailability of the shared spectrum may be based on areclaiming, by the one or more incumbent devices, of the shared spectrumfor the primary usage.

In Example 33, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples27-32, wherein the mobile network may include a Third GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) network. The mobile network shared spectrumrepository may operate as part of a Network Management Layer Service(NMLS) of the 3GPP network.

In Example 34, the subject matter of one or any combination of Examples27-33, wherein the secondary usage message may be received, from themobile network shared spectrum controller, over a Type-7 interface ofthe 3GPP network.

The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. Section 1.72(b)requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to ascertain the natureand gist of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with theunderstanding that it will not be used to limit or interpret the scopeor meaning of the claims. The following claims are hereby incorporatedinto the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as aseparate embodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus of an Evolved Node-B (eNB)configured to operate in a domain of a mobile network, the apparatuscomprising: interface circuitry; and hardware processing circuitry, thehardware processing circuitry to configure the interface circuitry to:send, to a mobile network shared spectrum controller of the mobilenetwork domain, a request to register with a shared spectrum repositoryfor secondary usage of shared spectrum; receive, from the mobile networkshared spectrum controller, a registration confirmation message thatindicates whether at least a portion of the shared spectrum is availablefor the secondary usage by the eNB, wherein the shared spectrumrepository operates externally to the mobile network domain, and whereinthe shared spectrum is at least partly reserved, by the shared spectrumrepository, for primary usage by one or more incumbent devices.